Styles of coping with stress and self-efficacy versus burnout among Probation and Correctional Service personnel

Abstract

The issue of burnout, despite the adopted organizational and legal solutions, is still present in professions related to the justice system. Probation Service and the Prison Service are professions with rich traditions in rehabilitation practice, and their staff is exposed to numerous loads in the workplace which may result in burnout. To identify its intensity, a study was carried out among 198 prison service’s officers and 201 probation officers using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations and the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale. Probation officers and prison service’s officers experience burnout in a similar way but differ in the preferred style of coping with stressful situations. Based on the intensity of burnout, three groups was distinguished: engaged in work, distanced and burned out at work.