Exposure to aggressive behaviour and burnout in direct support providers: The role of positive work factors.
Building DSP confidence and work motivation cushions them from burnout when clients act out.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team sent surveys to direct support staff in the United States. They asked how often clients hit, kicked, or yelled at them. They also asked how confident and motivated the staff felt at work.
Then they looked at whether high confidence and motivation softened the link between those scary moments and emotional exhaustion.
What they found
Staff who felt more confident and more motivated stayed less burned out, even when aggression stayed the same. The positive mind-set acted like a shield against exhaustion.
How this fits with other research
Griffith et al. (2012) saw the same aggression-burnout link in Canada three years earlier, but they did not test any buffers. The new study adds the shield of self-efficacy and work motivation.
Smyth et al. (2015) ran a near twin study in the UK and found the same core pathway, giving the result cross-country muscle.
Barton et al. (2019) later showed that mindfulness and good coping skills also protect staff. Together the papers say: you can’t stop every aggressive act, but you can build staff armour in several ways—confidence, motivation, or mindfulness.
Why it matters
You can’t erase client aggression overnight. You can grow staff confidence and motivation this week. Start by praising small wins, letting staff lead parts of the session, and asking what parts of the job excite them. A five-minute boost today can cut burnout six months from now.
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Pick one staff member, praise a recent correct response they gave, and ask them to run the next trial block.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Many direct support providers (DSPs) are exposed to aggressive behaviour in their work supporting adults with developmental disabilities service recipients. This is a work environment factor that has been linked to job burnout. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of positive work factors on emotional exhaustion (EE) among DSPs who are exposed to aggressive behaviour. Survey responses from 671 DSPs who were working in community service settings for adults with developmental disabilities, and were exposed to aggressive behaviour at least monthly were examined. Hierarchical linear regression examined the direct contribution and moderating role of positive work factors (self-efficacy for dealing with aggression and work contributions) on EE measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, after controlling for demographics, occupational variables, exposure to aggression and negative emotional reactions to aggression. Results showed that younger age, more experience, more depression/anger emotions in response to aggression, lower self-efficacy and low positive work contributions were significantly associated with EE. Positive work motivation was a moderator of exposure to aggression and EE. When work motivations were low, DSPs were more negatively affected by higher exposure to aggression. These findings suggest that in addition to addressing the negative emotional reactions to the aggressive behaviour encountered at work, it is also important to foster positive work factors which may be protective against EE.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.10.033