Relationship of Burnout among Professional Psychologists to Professional Expectations and Social Support

The current study investigated the phenomenon of professional burnout among psychologists of varying experience. Self-report measures were employed in a mail survey of Ontario psychologists. The average level of burnout, as assessed by the Tedium measure, was in the low moderate range ( M of 3.0 on a 7-point scale). Of the total sample of 255 subjects, 6.3% were determined to be burned out. Burnout was not related to experience in the profession or to other demographic variables but was significantly related to social support from family and friends, to expectations or attitudes about the profession, and less strongly, to changes in expectations over time (disillusionment). Graduate students reported significantly more disillusionment than practitioners.