Burnout and vocational satisfaction : an incremental validity study

Abstract

Burnout is a reality that affects all individuals, including those involved in religious pastorate (Hall, 1997). Considering its repercussions, research may help in buffering burnout’s far reaching effects. This preliminary study focused on the holistic wellbeing of lay catechists in Malta, a very specific population which has not been studied as such before, in view of burnout reality. Lay catechists are committed Catholics who are nonordained and fully committed to catechism and evangelization within their church. They normally hail from different groups, each guided by different spiritualities, within same faith. Participants (N = 217) completed measures assessing burnout, wellbeing, personality, spirituality, and vocational satisfaction. Results suggested moderately high levels of burnout, and low scores of personal accomplishment. Furthermore, results suggest that fully committed catechists may be more vulnerable to stress and burnout than candidates. More pertinent to this study, vocational satisfaction predicted a small, albeit significant, variance of burnout even after controlling for personality and subjective well-being. Thus, the stronger the sense of call, the 23 less likely one risks burnout. The psycho-social and spiritual implications of these results were discussed.