Emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation among specialists working in correctional institutions

Kapustina Tatiana Viktorovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9833-8963 PhD in Psychology Associate Professor, Department of General Psychological Disciplines, Pacific State Medical University under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation 690002, Russia, Primorsky Krai, Vladivostok, Ostryakova Ave., 2 12_archetypesplus@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Gaidai Anton Sergeevich ORCID: 0000-0002-0648-1170 Senior Lecturer, Department of General Psychological Disciplines, Pacific State Medical University under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation 690002, Russia, Primorsky Krai, Vladivostok, Ostryakova Ave., 2 netparoley@gmail.com Gorshkova Oksana Vladimirovna PhD in Sociology Associate Professor, Department of General Psychological Disciplines, Pacific State Medical University under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation 690002, Russia, Primorsky Krai, Vladivostok, Ostryakova Ave., 2 oksgor@mail.ru

Kadyrov Ruslan Vasitovich PhD in Psychology Head of the Department of General Psychological Disciplines, Pacific State Medical University under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation 690002, Russia, Primorsky Krai, Vladivostok, Ostryakova Ave., 2 rusl-kad@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

The phenomenon of professional deformation, despite its study, both in Russia and abroad, is currently a serious problem that a large number of specialists face every year ^{[1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 16]}. According to many authors (Belozerova L.A., Boyanov V.S., Kapustina T.V., Safukova N.N., Samoilova I.V.), the burnout syndrome, as an element of professional deformation, manifests itself in the body's response to the effects of professional stressors ^{[1, 2, 9]}. Specialists working in correctional institutions, they fall into a group of professions subject to emotional burnout, among them doctors, teachers, psychologists, and other professions in the "Man-man" system. First of all, this is due to the fact that they have to interact with other people the most, applying certain personality qualities ^{[1, 4, 7, 11, 12, 16]}. It is to these specialists that great demands are placed on their personality and abilities, and their absence may be the cause of burnout. As indicated by Bianchi R., Marques-Pinto A. and co-authors, isolation and detachment as personality traits in social professions can cause certain, mainly negative emotional reactions and experiences in the process of interacting with clients, patients, students ^{[12, 16]}. Many factors influencing the appearance of this syndrome can lead to serious personality changes in the future, which in turn increases the risk of developing serious diseases and leads to irreversible changes in the psyche ^{[7, 13]}.

The specifics of the professional activity of specialists working in correctional institutions are characterized in the "psychological support" of a child with various deviations in mental and/or physical condition. That is, a specialist in correctional institutions has the goal of creating certain conditions that contribute to the successful learning and development of each child, correcting his development characteristics according to a compiled program based on the diagnosis he carried out – this significantly distinguishes his activity from the features of the professional activity of a teacher ^{[10, 11, 13, 14]}. Specialists of correctional institutions have to work in situations of increased unpredictability, due to the peculiarities of the manifestation of certain developmental disorders, for example, when working with children with autism spectrum disorders ^[11]. Constant readiness for unpredictable actions of students increases the risk of emotional burnout ^[13]. Teachers of correctional institutions, subject to symptoms of emotional burnout, feel the need for privacy, catch themselves on aggressive thoughts towards colleagues and children, as well as tend to devalue achievements, merits and their professional results ^{[5, 10, 11, 13, 14]}.

The relevance of the work is to identify and prevent factors affecting emotional burnout in order to minimize this syndrome and increase safe working capacity, which in turn, in the future, will increase the efficiency of specialists of correctional institutions. The accumulation of scientific knowledge about this problem will also allow a better approach to the problem of solving and minimizing this syndrome among the population. Structured information, a detailed description of emotional burnout, as well as accurate differentiation from other elements of professional deformation will allow you to more accurately identify the problem and select appropriate and effective methods of influence. Structuring can be achieved by considering emotional burnout as an element of professional personality deformation using a component model represented by three components: affective-cognitive, physiological and behavioral ^[2]. Theoretical analysis of a number of studies (Belozerova L.A., Vakulenko M.V., Davydova N.I., Pachkolina E.N., Samoilova I.V., Safukova N.N., Shamieva N.S., Farkhutdinova L.V., Bianchi R., Manzano-Garc?, G., Rolland J.-P., Garwood J.D. et al.) allowed us to determine and assume that the affective-cognitive component of emotional burnout is represented by a constant change of mood, frequent outbursts of aggression towards colleagues who do not correspond to the adequacy of the stimulus. The physiological component is associated with a constant feeling of inner stiffness and tension, fatigue. The behavioral component is expressed in avoiding obligations and problems, in social isolation in situations of increased demands that affect for a long time ^{[1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14]}. Thus, the manifestations of emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation among specialists of correctional institutions have their own characteristics and patterns. However, to find out exactly how they manifest themselves and whether they differ from teachers who do not work in correctional institutions, you can study in detail the features of the manifestations of emotional burnout, as well as the personal characteristics of specialists.

The aim of the work is to describe emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation in specialists working in correctional institutions in comparison with teachers who do not work in correctional institutions according to three components: physiological, affective-cognitive and behavioral.

Organization and methods of research

Specialists of correctional institutions of Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk took part in the study. The main group of the study consisted of 52 female correctional institution specialists aged 38-54 years with work experience of 14 years or more. The comparison group was represented by 52 teachers working in general education institutions. All female subjects aged from 37 to 51 years, with more than 14 years of work experience.

The methods used in the study allow us to reliably describe the components of emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation and were selected in accordance with the purpose of the work. The study used: The methodology for diagnosing the level of emotional burnout V.V. Boyko, the Questionnaire for determining the level of mental burnout (MBI) K. Maslach, S. Jackson (adapted by N.E. Vodopyanova), the Questionnaire of work-related behavior and experiences (AVEM) U. Shaarschmidt, A. Fischer (adapted by T. Ronginskaya) and the Individual Typological Questionnaire (ITO) by L.N. Sobchik. Since the purpose of this study is to establish differences in emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation among specialists of correctional institutions and teachers who do not work in correctional institutions, the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-test was used during static processing of the data obtained at a significance level of no more than 5% (p-level ? 0.05). To establish the relationship of individual indicators (manifestations of emotional burnout and personality traits) in the main group, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used. All calculations were carried out in the Statistica 10.0 program.

Results and their discussion

At the first stage of the analysis, a statistical study of the components of emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation between the main group and the comparison group was carried out using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-test.

When studying the differences in the manifestations of emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation, significant differences were revealed according to different methods (Table 1).

Table 1 – Statistically revealed differences in emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation between the main group and the comparison group

Thus, according to the results of statistical processing, specialists of correctional institutions are more prone to the beginning of the formation of a stress phase, which is expressed in a symptom of dissatisfaction with themselves. It can be assumed that differences in the conditions and tasks of the professional activity of the main group and the comparison group are the reason for this result. Specialists of correctional institutions probably tend to evaluate their activities more as complex and requiring increased responsibility. They have to work with such a group of children who, one way or another, have certain peculiarities of mental development and/or various physiological disorders. Environmental conditions make it difficult for them to achieve their goals, which from time to time may require a longer time to implement them, or even impossible to achieve at all. And, thus, specialists of correctional institutions, being under the influence of prolonged professional stress, can take over the difficulties that occur in the process of doing their work at their own expense, blaming themselves for the inability to achieve results effectively enough, which can also affect their self-esteem. There are also significant results on the level of resistance phase formation. It was found that specialists of correctional institutions are more inclined to form a phase of resistance, which is characterized, in this case, by the manifestation of such a symptom of emotional burnout as inadequate emotional response. In this case, in the process of performing their professional duties, people with this symptom tend to react more vividly to various difficult situations, excessively emotionally and sometimes not in accordance with the situation itself. It can be assumed that specialists of correctional institutions, being in a state of fatigue and emotional overload caused by the conditions of their professional environment, are more likely than teachers who do not work in correctional institutions to be prone to negative emotional reactions towards their colleagues or even children. Or, perhaps, they more often manage to catch themselves on negative thoughts that arise in the process of working interactions.

Statistical results according to the methodology of K. Maslach and S. Jackson showed that specialists of correctional institutions tend to form a specific form of social maladaptation in the social environment in comparison with teachers working with children who do not have various forms of deviation in physical and/or mental development. The main group is more prone to limiting the number of contacts with people around them, they have a tendency to irritability and intolerance in situations of interpersonal interaction, to negativism towards close people. It can be assumed that the peculiarities of the environment of specialists, exposing them to constant emotional overload and prolonged exposure to stress, in a state of fatigue and bad mood, force them to withdraw from communication with people in order to normalize their mental state. Probably, thoughts and experiences about problems and difficulties at work can provoke outbursts of aggression and aggressive behavior.

According to the AVEM methodology, significant differences were revealed on the scale of the Tendency to refuse in a situation of failure (RT) – the tendency to reconcile with a situation of failure and easy refusal to overcome it. Probably, in the main group, due to the conditions of increased demands and constant emotional overload, the specialist will be inclined to accept the situation as something "permanent" and frequent, without regarding it as something tragic and "threatening". Perhaps such a model of behavior is caused by the fact that a person, devaluing the situation, does not allow the development of negative emotional experiences that can provoke conflict and lead to even greater difficulties. Work experience allows you to rationally approach the problematic situation, which you can refuse to overcome in favor of your mental health, as well as saving time to implement the tasks of your professional activity. This approach ensures the preservation of good relations with the team, superiors and children, but it can cause additional difficulties when "ignoring" really important problems.

According to the results of the ITO L.N. Sobchik methodology, people in the main group are more prone to manifestations of detachment, isolation. It's easier for them to come up with something new and work in a quiet environment. They strive for independence and self-sufficiency, prefer communication from a position of additional support. It can be assumed that they tend to keep the problems they face at work to themselves and solve them on their own as needed. Speaking about teachers working in general education institutions, they, in comparison with specialists of correctional institutions, are more characterized by communication and sociability, the desire to establish a large number of contacts. Probably, such differences are related to the peculiarities of their activities – teachers need to constantly maintain communication with children, be in a team of children, performing the tasks assigned to them; specialists of correctional institutions are more characteristic of the diagnostic component, more often have to work with documents and methods in order to compile correctional programs and plans for the implementation of tasks of professional activity. At the same time, an individual approach is more important in the main group, since, based on the peculiarities of the development of the psyche and physiology, it is necessary to select and draw up an accurately elaborated work plan that will not suit another child with the requirement to switch between these plans.

The second stage of the empirical analysis of the results of the study is characterized by a statistical study of the relationship between personal characteristics and manifestations of emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation in specialists working in correctional institutions using the rank correlation coefficient H. Spearman (Tables 2-3).

Specialists of correctional institutions, who are characterized by the need to exaggerate their problems in order to receive support, are prone to emotional and mental exhaustion, as well as personal detachment. It can be assumed that under the influence of constant professional stress, the main group, due to the difficulties of their work, tends to pay increased attention to their state of health, as well as to psychological problems that arise in the process of performing work tasks. Such people, according to the results of the study, "block" the need for communication, withdrawing from contacts in order to normalize their condition, while constant thoughts about their current state do not allow specialists to adequately assess negative manifestations.

Table 2 – Statistically revealed correlation of indicators in the main group according to the methodology of ITO L.N. Sobchik and the MBI questionnaire K. Maslach and S. Jackson (adapted by N.E. Vodopyanova)

Also, specialists with high rates of aggravity are characterized by a number of symptoms of emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation (Table 3), namely, experiencing traumatic circumstances, dissatisfaction with themselves, feeling "trapped in a cage", anxiety and depression, expanding the sphere of saving emotions, emotional deficit, personal detachment and psychosomatic and psychovegetative disorders. According to statistically obtained data, exaggerating the significance of their problems and difficulties of character reveals the need for a specialist to take care of their health and the desire to help, which indicates the development of emotional burnout, which without the help of a relevant specialist will be quite difficult to overcome on their own.

Table 3 – Statistically revealed correlation of indicators in the main group according to the methodology of ITO L.N. Sobchik and methods of diagnosing the level of emotional burnout V.V. Boyko

The following mathematically revealed similarities of personality traits and symptoms of emotional burnout allow us to conclude that the more a person is directed to communication, is open to new contacts, the less the symptom of depersonalization will be expressed. It is likely that a person capable of open interaction and striving for involvement in group interaction will be less prone to social maladaptation caused by difficulties at work. Extroverts tend to discuss their problems in a circle of close people, "discharge" in communication and thus maintain a calm mental state. However, the presence of problems and difficulties in professional activity, with prolonged exposure, can lower the self-esteem of a specialist, cause feelings of guilt and dissatisfaction with their achievements (Table 2). On the contrary, frequent social connections at work can provoke overwork and in the future, cause indifference to work. According to the correlation of correlation indicators according to the V.V. Boyko methodology and the Individual-typological questionnaire (Table 3), the presence of high extroversion indicators in the personal profile is associated with a negative correlation for such symptoms of emotional burnout as experiencing traumatic events, feeling "trapped in a cage" and reduction of professional responsibilities. That is, a specialist focused on the "outside" world, open to communication, will be less exposed to the symptoms described above. In turn, introverts will be more susceptible to developing an inadequate emotional response to difficulties in their work, as well as to children and colleagues, and are also prone to devaluing their professional and personal achievements. Excessive isolation and preoccupation with one's "inner world" in the work of a specialist of correctional institutions aimed at direct interaction with children will emotionally "saturate" such a person, causing discomfort, which with prolonged "encouragement" can form into an emotional burnout syndrome.

Further, according to the results of statistics, the tendency to rash statements and actions is interrelated with manifestations of dissatisfaction with oneself and one's professional activities. It can be assumed that spontaneous actions of a person can cause problems in the professional environment, which entail emotional overstrain in attempts to correct difficult situations, as well as a sense of guilt for rash statements.

Indicators of sensitivity, interrelated with the symptom of devaluation of personal achievements, suggest that impressionable people who are prone to "thinking things over" and constant reflection tend to overly negative assessment of themselves and their professional successes. Working with children with physiological disorders or mental abnormalities, "impressionable" specialists will be prone to worry about the result of their activities and the work itself as a whole, fearing to make a mistake, which, in his opinion, will lead to extremely undesirable consequences. Despite this, according to the results of statistics, excessive reaction of negative emotions contributes to the inhibition of the development of such symptoms of emotional burnout as emotional deficit, emotional detachment and personal detachment (Table 3).

Specialists whose personality characteristics are dominated by anxiety tend to be more dissatisfied with themselves and the results of their work (Table 2). Since such individuals tend to worry and plan, they will also often be dissatisfied with the result and professional achievements, believing that they are capable of more. However, in some cases, when working with children, their "inflated expectations" are not able to be realized within the deadline or are completely impossible. Individuals who are overly emotional, according to the results of the statistical relationship, have less susceptibility to the development of social detachment. The ability to react to emotions helps to normalize their mental state, and frank and "sensual" communication and discussion of their experiences allows you to get rid of excessive tension.

Specialists who are inclined to leadership also have "resistance" to the development of a symptom of depersonalization, however, they tend to evaluate their work as "untenable" (Table 2). Proactive specialists involved in collective and working interaction have a predisposition to structure activities and select the right ways to solve the tasks. But the difficulties they have to face due to the peculiarities of the work of correctional institutions do not always contribute to the timely and high-quality completion of solving professional tasks. In this case, experts blame themselves for the failures and failures that may occur. They write off their achievements as "luck" and cannot sensibly assess their condition. Nevertheless, the results of the statistical analysis of personal characteristics with the methodology of V.V. Boyko (Table 3) show a negative correlation for symptoms such as inadequate emotional response, reduction of professional responsibilities and emotional deficit. A specialist who strives to organize his work will be able to build a plan in such a way as to achieve the most effective results, and the ability to communicate and receive support will allow him to react to negative emotions and normalize his mental state.

Indicators of nonconformity and conformity showed a high dependence with the symptom of reduction of personal achievements (Table 2). Probably, from the data obtained, it should be concluded that both excessive self-doubt and orientation to generally accepted norms of behavior, as well as a style of behavior characterized by excessive egocentrism and confidence in one's own knowledge and abilities can lead to the development of the above-described symptom. Orientation to the opinion of society contributes to the expert's assessment of the difficulties of his professional activity as the insolvency of himself as a person, and overestimating his capabilities, a person builds unrealistic plans and expectations that he is not able to realize, thereby also "lowering" himself as a wealthy person.

The statistically revealed relationship between the indicator of compromise and depersonalization shows a negative correlation (Table 2). Thus, the specialist involved in the interaction is capable of emotional support, both for children and for his colleagues, strives to avoid conflicts by making a decision that satisfies all parties. To do this, a person uses his rich experience in communication, which does not allow him to emotionally and personally distance himself from the team in order to solve problems related to the difficulties of the professional reality of correctional institutions.

Mathematically, the relationship between indicators of communication and such symptoms of emotional burnout as personal detachment and reduction of professional responsibilities was confirmed. In the first case, the communicative personality of a specialist acts as a "resource" of protection against the formation of depersonalization, since the ability to maintain a conversation and focus on the team allow you to react to excessive tension. However, the constant need for communication and interaction can lead to a decrease in self-esteem as a professional, since oversaturation of problems and communication can cause negative feelings about working in a correctional institution. Statistical analysis of the interaction of personality traits and symptoms of burnout shows a negative correlation on the following scales – experiencing traumatic circumstances, dissatisfaction with oneself, feeling "trapped in a cage", emotional deficit, personal detachment." Thus, a person with communication skills, extensive communication experience and a wide range of close people is able to resist the development of emotional burnout in their professional activities.

Conclusion

So, the results obtained allow us to describe the manifestations of emotional burnout as an element of professional personality deformation, based on a component model.

The affective-cognitive component is characterized by a high level of emotional exhaustion, personal detachment, experiencing traumatic circumstances, inadequate emotional response, expansion of the sphere of saving emotions and emotional deficit in combination with personality traits such as sensitivity and anxiety. Specialists of correctional institutions with pronounced symptoms of emotional burnout, which was formed under the influence of prolonged professional stress and emotional oversaturation, have a tendency to violations of social adaptation in everyday life. Difficulties in establishing contact with your usual social circle will be expressed in frequent outbursts of anger, inability to understand and / or assess the emotional state of the interlocutor. It can be assumed that such a specialist will experience a sense of misunderstanding on the part of his loved ones, along with an unwillingness to ask for help and seek support. Also, negative thoughts about colleagues and children will increasingly interfere with work and correctly assess the environment. Frequent mood swings, and possibly nervous breakdowns will often accompany his professional activities. Even the most minor difficulties or problems at work will be accompanied by deep feelings, a decrease in self-esteem and general mental well-being.

The physiological component of emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation in specialists working in correctional institutions is revealed in the emerging stage of psychophysical exhaustion, tension. It was revealed that teachers of correctional institutions have a tendency to feel emotional and physical exhaustion. In their work, they do not feel the same "strength", they hardly cope with tasks that they could previously solve without such costs. Working with children brings less pleasure. A constant feeling of lack of strength prevents them from adequately feeling themselves at work and in relationships with children. It can be assumed that symptoms such as dizziness and insomnia often accompany the routine of specialists. As a rule, they come to work tired and sleepy. They prefer to spend their free time trying to "sleep it off", but this does not bring the desired result. Even if you still manage to come to work cheerful, you notice a sharp fatigue from a small involvement in professional activity with the need to finish as soon as possible and go home. However, fatigue does not allow him to fully and timely complete the tasks assigned to him, which aggravates the situation. They tend to work through force, probably may have any psychosomatic diseases, for example, frequent abdominal or heart pain.

The behavioral component of emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation of specialists working in correctional institutions is quite pronounced in the manifestation of such symptoms of burnout as depersonalization, decreased work productivity, reduction of personal achievements and professional responsibilities, emotional and moral disorientation, as well as inadequate emotional response. Thus, their activities will often be accompanied by attempts to facilitate their work, expressed in a "mediocre" attitude to the activity. It can be assumed that a specialist, in an effort to free up time from work, will communicate with children "automatically", without sympathy and/or empathy. Interaction with colleagues is of a detached nature, and overall productivity suffers due to more "rapid" completion of tasks, as a rule, without proper understanding of the requirements. In interpersonal relationships, the need for isolation has been identified, which will manifest itself in limiting the number of people with whom the specialist has communicated before. Also, coldness in communication or, conversely, frequent outbursts of aggression or discontent will encourage teachers of correctional institutions to often feel misunderstood by people around him.

Thus, the obtained characteristic of the components opens up the possibility for drawing up programs for the correction and prevention of symptoms of emotional burnout as an element of professional deformation in specialists working in correctional institutions. These programs are recommended to be developed on the basis of an accurate diagnosis of the manifestations of emotional burnout in the professional environment of teachers of correctional institutions.