Stress, appraisals, and well-being of staff working with adults with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour

Aim: This study undertook a preliminary investigation of the staff well-being model with support staff working with adults with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. The staff well-being model was conceptualised from Lawton et al.’s (1991) two-factor model of caregiving appraisal and psychological well-being, Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional model of stress, and research literature investigating staff stress and burnout. The proposed staff well-being model was used to explore hypothesised relationships between staff stressors, resources, appraisals, and outcome. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 47 support staff working in intellectual disability community services, with non-parametric tests of means and correlational analysis undertaken to explore nine relationships. Appraisals of emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment, measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory, were compared with staff perceptions of intellectual disability, challenging behaviour, and organisational demands (stressors), organisational support, social support, wishful thinking, and practical coping (resources), positive feelings and negative feelings (outcomes). Results: Five significant relationships were found (p < .001). Appraisals of emotional exhaustion were positively associated with organisational demands, wishful thinking coping, and negative feelings, and negatively associated with organisational support. Appraisals of personal accomplishment were positively associated with positive feelings. Conclusions: This preliminary exploration of the staff well-being model found five significant relationships between staff stressors, resources, appraisals and outcome. The results are discussed in light of the methodological limitations of this study including the small sample size, multiple comparisons and correlational design. Further exploration of the model is suggested in light of its explicit conceptualisation from theories of stress, appraisal and well-being, with the potential for structural equation modelling to be undertaken with a larger sample.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

other

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of East Anglia

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Brame, Nicola

Language dc:language

en