Job stress, burnout and job satisfaction in staff working with people with intellectual disabilities: community and criminal justice care
| Published date | 09 March 2015 |
| Pages | 44-52 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-04-2015-0007 |
| Date | 09 March 2015 |
| Author | Erik Søndenaa,Richard Whittington,Christian Lauvrud,Kåre Nonstad |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities,Offending behaviour |
Job stress, burnout and job satisfaction in
staff working with people with intellectual
disabilities: community and criminal
justice care
Erik Søndenaa, Richard Whittington, Christian Lauvrud and Kåre Nonstad
Dr Erik Søndenaa is Researcher
at the Forensic Department,
St. Olavs University Hospital,
Trondheim, Norway and
Norwegian University of
Science and Technology,
Trondheim, Norway.
Richard Whittington is
Professor at the Forensic
Department, St. Olavs
University Hospital, Trondheim,
Norway; Norwegian University
of Science and Technology,
Trondheim, Norway and
University of Liverpool,
Liverpool, UK.
Christian Lauvrud and
Kåre Nonstad are Research
Advisors, both at the Forensic
Department, St. Olavs
University Hospital,
Trondheim, Norway.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare levels of burnout, traumatic stress and
resilience amongst Norwegian nursing care staff in two intellectual disability (ID) services.
Design/methodology/approach –This was a cross-sectional survey in which 137 staff completed
questionnaires measuring work-related stress, burnout, compassion and resilience. Two groups were
compared; staff in the national forensic ID services and staff in the community ID caring services.
Findings –Nursing staff in the community ID caring services had significantly more signs of stress and
burnout compared to the other group. At the same time they were more compassionate.
Originality/value –The different caring cultures examined in this study indicated that the forensic ID staff
tended to focus on the physical aspects of the caring role whilst the community ID staff tended to focus on the
relational issues. The impact of serious events resulted in a higher level of stress and burnout symptoms,
however the community carers showed more compassion to their work.
Keywords Resilience, Burnout, Stress, Forensic services, Intellectual disability care,
Professional quality of life
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Staff stress and wellbeing have been identified as major issues affecting the quality of services for
people with intellectual disabilities (ID). A large proportion of nursing staff members are exposed
to stressful work environments which may put them at an increased risk of burnout. The present
research compared local community caring services and forensic ID services regarding different
impacts of stress.
Background
Aggressive challenging behaviour (CB) in people who have ID has been described in a large
number of reports (Cooper et al., 2009; Crocker et al., 2006; Emerson et al., 2001; Holden and
Gitlesen, 2006). The manifestation of these behaviours may be verbal or physical and it may
be directed towards others, themselves or property (Crocker et al., 2006; Hensel et al., 2013).
The consequences of CB have also been well documented. It has been shown to be associated
with increased stress in family carers, to influence decisions about placements in residential care
Received 22 April 2015
Revised 22 April 2015
Accepted 20 July 2015
PAGE44
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JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
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VOL. 6 NO. 1 2015, pp.44-52, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8824 DOI 10.1108/JIDOB-04-2015-0007
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