Expectation and burnout in the developmental disabilities field

Psychological burnout was assessed in staff members at workshops and community residences for the developmentally disabled. Participants also rated expectations for client progress and for their own contribution to clients. They reported on change in expectation since they entered the field. High expectations were related to low burnout; workers who reported experiencing large negative expectation change were most burned out. Burnout seemed to be prevented when staff members made an expectation shift from reliance on client progress to a sense of personal efficacy. This finding is discussed in terms of personal causation, internal control of reinforcement, and adaptation-level theory. There was little evidence of client depersonalization, a usual component of burnout. Such a burnout pattern may be a function of the ethic of community care for the developmentally disabled.