Journul oj Criminal Jusrice Vol. 19. pp. 325337 ( 1991) 0047-2352/91 $3.

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All rights resewed. Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 01991 Pergamon Press plc

THE PATH TO PROBATION OFFICER BURNOUT:

NEW DOGS, OLD TRICKS

ALINA M. H~LGATE IAN J. CLEGG

Department of Psychology Office of Corrections

Swinbume Institute of Technology Ringwood, Victoria 3 134
Hawthorn, Victoria 3 I22 Australia
Australia

ABSTRACT

Two causal path models describing the process ofjob burnout in a younger (N = 5.5, mean age =
29) and an older (N = 51, meun age = 43) sumple of Austrulian probution ojicers lt’ere de~~eluped.
The process of burnuut wus found to dt$er between age groups. For the younger o@cers, emotionality
und role conflict contributed to increased emotional exhaustion and to increased client contuct. For
the ofder ojjicers, emotionuf exhaustion and luck of prrsunul accomplishment contributed to decreused
client contact. Findings confi’rm the importance o~j’rofe ambiguity, role conffict, and kuck ofpartici-
pation in decisionmaking as contributors to burnout. it was concluded thut personality interuc,ted with
organizational jtictors to produce burnout in the Jounger oj]i:cer.s. whereas organizational j&tot-s were
the primary determinants of burnout in the older ofli’cers. Contrury to suggestions thut the dimensions
qf burnout j&m a linked process, neither emotional exhaustion nor clel3ersonalization were found to
contribute to lack qf personul uc~c~omplishment. It is suggested thut interventions to ameliorate pro-
bation oflicer burnout should tuke account oj’both organizational and personal contributors to burnout,
which depend upon the ages and career stages of workers.

With continuing efforts to find alternatives pansion of the probation officer role has been
to imprisonment of criminal offenders, in- noted by some researchers in the United States
creasing attention is being paid to the reha- (Lawrence, 1984, Thomas, 1988).
bilitative role of probation and parole offi- Work in the probation field is typified by
cers, hereafter referred to as probation such sources of job stress as relatively low
officers. ’ In Victoria, Australia, the Penalties pay and status, inadequate resources, and
and Sentences Act (1985) has resulted in a little opportunity for career development
considerable expansion of the occupational (Thomas, 1988:48). In addition, probation
role of probation officers due to an increased work involves role conflicts and ambiguities
emphasis on providing programs tailored to not typically found in most human service
the individual needs of offenders. Similar ex- work (Whitehead, 1985). Probation officers

325
326 ALINA HOI~GATt: and t AN CLEGG

deal with a coerced client group. Officers are trying to work harder at the job (thus con-
expected to fulfill a custodial role which em- tributing to increased stress) or, alternatively,
phasizes policing of the client and at the same by leaving the job (thus contributing to high
time to perform a rehabilitative role which staff turnover). Older and more experienced
emphasizes the provision of a welfare service workers, on the other hand. may respond by
to the client (Lawrence, 1984: 14). withdrawing commitment to their work and
A substantial body of research links the essentially “retiring” on the job (thus con-
stressors of probation work to the risk of oc- tributing to low staff morale and lowered
cupational burnout. Burnout may be defined productivity).
as “a syndrome of emotional exhaustion and Although no prior published studies ex-
cynicism” that occurs frcqucntly among in- plicitly have addressed the question of how
dividuals whodo “people-work” (Maalach and the process of burnout may differ for younger
Jackson. 1981: I ) and involves a “psycho- and older probation officers. the findings of
logical withdrawal from work in response to previous research suggest that differences ex-
excessive stress” (Cherniss. 1980: 16). Con- ist. In Victoria, 68 percent of those officers
sequences of burnout are argued to be high who left within one year of cmploymont were
staff turnover (Jackson, Schwab, and Schu- aged 35 years or less (figures supplied by the
ler. 19X6) and debilitating personal stress Office of Corrections). Younger- probation
(Maslach and Jackson. 1981). Figures sup- and corrections officers have reported greater
plied by the Office of Corrections. Victoria. burnout than have older workers (Whit&cad.
show that over a four-year period 60 percent 1985: 107; Whitehcad and Lindquist. l986:19;
of those officers who left probation work had Gerstein. Topp, and Corrcll. I’SX7:3hl:
worked in the job for one year or less. Fur- Whitchead. 1987:X). and older officers have
ther, 44 percent of compensation payments been found to engage in less client contact
made to employees, over a one-year period. than do younger officers (Whitehead and
were for work-related mental disorders such Lindquist. lY86:32). This has led to suggtx
as stress. High turnover results in high re- tions that burnout eventually may induct
cruitment and replacement costs and compro- older and more experienced officers to with
mises the development of professional ex- draw from client contact (Whitehead and
pertise. With increasing fiscal constraints Lindquist, 1986:39). The possibility that the
within the field of corrections, research into process of burnout may differ depending upon
the determinants and consequences of burn- the age of the probation ofticer therefore needs
out among Australian probation officers is to bc addressed.
timely. Burnout is considered to be a response to
Whitehead (1987) has pointed out that pre- job stress experienced as a conseyuence of
vious research into burnout has lacked cx- the demands of human service work, and it
plicit causal modelling of the burnout pro- is said to involve three discrete components:
cess. The present research attempted to extend emotional exhaustion. depersonalization. and
Whitehead’s causal modelling of the process reduced personal accomplishment (Maslach.
among U.S. probation officers with an Aus- 1982:3). Cherniss ( 1980: 17PlX) has sug-
tralian sample. A further aim of the research gested that these components represent inter-
was to test the proposition that the process of related phases of a burnout process. Feelings
burnout differs between younger and older of lowered personal accomplishment are the
officers. It has been argued that burnout is result of a psychological detachment from
more likely to occur early in an individual’s clients (depersonalization). which is a re-
career (Cherniss, 1980) and that younger and sponse to emotional exhaustion brought about
older workers differ in their response to burn- by stressful work demands. Although pre-
out (Maslach. 1982). Theory and research vious research with probation officers has
suggest that younger and less experienced modellcd the determinants of each of the three
workers may respond to burnout either by dimensions of burnout independently (for
 The Path to Probation Officer Burnout 327

example, Whitehead and Lindquist, 1986; reported engaging in less face-to-face contact
Whitehead, 1987), no attempt has been made with clients than when they started in their
to integrate these components into one causal jobs and the finding by Whitehead and Lind-
model. In order to clarify whether these com- quist (1986:32) that older corrections officers
ponents represent independent dimensions of engaged in less client contact than did younger
burnout or whether they represent phases 01 officers are consistent with the proposition that
a burnout process, another aim of the present higher or lower levels of client contact by
research was to link these three components probation officers may represent a rrsponse
into one causal model. to burnout, rather than a determinant of burn-
Maslach (1982:38) has argued that the out. Accordingly, in the present study, level
emotional demands of client contact are a of client contact was conceptualized as an
pivotal determinant of burnout. Accordingly, outcome variable rather than as a predictor
previous research has considered client con- variable.
tact to be a predictor of burnout. However, Regardless of the specific role of client
research with probation and corrections of- contact in burnout, most researches have
ficers has found that levels of client contact concluded that Cherniss’s conceptualization
are either unrelated to emotional exhaustion of burnout as a response to the stress of or-
and depersonaliziation or that they in fact ganizational demands better explains the pro-
contribute to higher levels of personal ac- cess of burnout among probation and correc-
complishment (Whitehead and Lindquist, tions officers than does Maslach’s emphasis
1986:35; Whitehead, 1987:s). This has led to on client contact (Gerstein et al., 1987:359-
suggestions that client contact in the proba- 60; Whitehead, 1987:13; Thomas, 1988:.56).
tion field differs from that in other human In particular, role ambiguity, role conflict,
service work in ways which make interac- and lack of participation in decisionmaking
tions less stressful (Whitehead and Lindquist, have been found to be important contributors
1986:36; Whitehead, 1987: 13). Interactions to burnout among probation and corrections
between offenders and probation officers have officers and some other human service work-
been characterized as “typically, amiable, ers (Schwab and Iwanicki, 1982:70; Cheek
superficial. and brief” (Stanley, 1976:97). The and Miller, 1983:llS; Whitehead and Lind-
use of client contact as an independent pre- quist, 1985:116; 1986:35; Gerstein et al.,
dictor of burnout, however, is based on the 1987:360; Whitehead, 1987:8). Role ambi-
assumption that workers are unable to exer- guity may be defined as “the lack of clear,
cise any control over the amount of client consistent information regarding rights, du-
contact in their work. The situation of pro- ties and responsibilities of a person’s occu-
bation officers differs from that of many other pation and how they can be best performed”
human service workers in that often there are (Schwab and Iwanicki, 1982:62). Role con-
no formal requirements about the extent or flict may be defined as “the simultaneous oc-
type of face-to-face interaction probation of- currence of two or more sets of inconsistent
ficers must enage in with clients. Stanley expected role behaviors for an individual”
(1976:99) noted that “the stiff, shallow en- (Schwab and Iwanicki, 1982:61). As indi-
counter is typical of surveillance interviews.” cated previously, both are argued to be en-
Although competing demands may affect demic to probation work. While role ambi-
levels of client contact, the extent of face-to- guity and role conflict have been found to
face contact to some degree reflects the pro- contribute directly to burnout (Whitehead
bation officers’ willingness to engage in in- and Lindquist, 1986:35; Whitehead, 1987:8),
terpersonal contact with clients. participation in decisionmaking has been found
Maslach (1982:3) has argued that burnout to affect burnout by contributing to role con-
results in an unwillingness to engage in client flict and role ambiguity. Officers who have
contact. Findings by Thomas (198857) that greater input into decisions affecting their
probation officers with higher burnout scores work report less role conflict (Whitehead and
328 ALINA HOLGATE and IAN CLEGG

Lindquist, 1986:35; Whitehead, 1987:8) and one causal model. In constructing the path
less role ambiguity (Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, and models it was assumed that emotional
Snoek, 1964). exhaustion would contribute to depersonal-
While important organizational contribu- ization and that both of these would inde-
tors to burnout have been identified, much of pendently contribute to lowered personal
accomplishment.
the research into determinants of burnout can
3. To compare the effects of organizational and
be criticized for failing to account for the
personality variables in determining bum-
possible causal role of the personality of the
out. Due to emotionality’a pervasive effect
individual worker. Longitudinal research has upon satisfaction with general life domains,
indicated the important role of fundamental it was assumed that probation officers high
personality dispositions, such as sociability in emotionality would report greater role
and neuroticism, in reliably accounting for conflict, role ambiguity. and burnout. In ad-
self-reported satisfaction with general life do- dition, it was assumed that, independently
mains, such as personal relationships and of the effect of emotionality, role conflict
work. Costa and McRae ( 1980; 1987) have and role ambiguity would contribute to greater
found that the dimension of emotionality burnout and that lack of participation in de-
cisionmaking would indirectly affect burn-
consistently accounts for significant variance
out by contributing to increased role conflict
in ratings of subjective well-being. High
and role ambiguity.
scorers on emotionality, a facet of neuroti-
cism, are typified by low ego strength, guilt Whitehead and Lindquist ( 1986:28) have
proneness, anxiety, psychosomatic conerns, pointed out that a limitation of testing a hy-
and worry (Costa and McRae, 1980:674). pothetical path model is that interactions be-
Those high in emotionality tend to make tween variables may be missed due to the
globally negative assessments of their in- assumption of undirectional relationships. In
terpersonal relationships (McLennan and the present research no (I priori hypothetical
Omodei, 198X), to experience greater con- models were proposed. Although assump-
flict and ambiguity in their work (Kahn et al., tions were made about causal priority of vari-
1964:251), and to report greater unhappiness ables, each possible statistical combination of
with life generally (Costa and McRae, interactions was tested, and path models were
1980:675). developed which best described the observed
It is important to distinguish personal con- independent statistical associations between
tributors to burnout from organizational con- variables. We argue that such an approach is
tributors in order best to identify ways in which likely to provide an improved description of
burnout may be addressed at all levels. Ac- the observed relationships between variables,
cordingly, this research considered the role better revealing the causal process of burnout
of emotionality in the burnout process, as well for the sample being studied.
as the organizational contributors of role am-
biguity, role conflict, and participation in de- METHOD
cisionmaking. In summary, the aims of the
research were: Data for this study were obtained from vo-
untary responses to questionnaires mailed to
1. To develop causal path models depicting the all 187 Community Corrections Officers en-
process of burnout for a younger and an older
ployed throughout the state of Victoria. A re-
sample of probation officers in order to in
sponse rate of 57 percent was obtained, and
vestigate whether this process differed bc-
twecn the two groups. In this task it was as-
the final sample consisted of 106 Community
sumed that burnout would prcccde and Corrections Officers, comprising sixty-one
determine levels of client contact, with older females (mean age = 34 years) and forty-five
and more burnt-out officers reporting less males (mean age = 39 years). No sex dif-
face-to-face client contact. ferences were found for any of the variables
2. To link the three dimensions of burnout into under study; therefore, the responses of males
 The Path to Probation Officer Burnout 329

and females were combined for all analyses. were then obtained by summing appropriate
Apart from degree of burnout, measures as- items. In order to ensure that high scores for
sessed respondents’ levels of emotionality, all three subscale measures reflected greater
role conflict, role ambiguity, perceived par- burnout, scores for the subscale measure of
ticipation in decisionmaking, and hours per Personal Accomplishment were reversed so
week of face-to-face client contact. Age and that a high score indicated a high level of
experience (defined as number of years hck of personal accomplishment. Scale in-
employed supervising offenders) also were ternal consistencies (Cronbach’s alpha) for
measured. the three standardized subscale scores were
In order to investigate whether the causal found to be .92 (Emotional Exhaustion), .X6
process of burnout differed according to age, (Depersonaliziation), and .84 (Personal
two path models were developed. The sam- Accomplishment).
ple was divided into a younger group (N = The personality dimension of emotionality
55, age range = 19-35 years, mean age = was measured using three items from the
29) and an older group (N = 51, age range EASI-III Temperament Survey (Braithwaite,
= 36-58 years, mean age = 43). These two Duncan-Jones, Bosley-Craft, and Goodchild,
groups differed significantly as to (1) mean 1984), which has been normed for the Aus-
level of emotionality (t(100) = 3.39, p < tralian population. Items measured respon-
.OOl). with younger workers reporting higher dents’ self-reported emotional reactivity. Re-
emotionality, and (2) mean years of experi- sponse options ranged from 1 (“not at all true
ence (t(98) = 2.82, p < .05), with older of me”) to 4 (“very true of me”), and re-
workers reporting more years of experience. sponses were summed to obtain total Emo-
Average burnout scores did not differ signif- tionality scores. Higher scores indicate greater
icantly between the two groups. emotionality. Cronbach’s alpha was found to
The three subscales of the Maslach Bum- be .64. As previously indicated, younger
out Inventory (MBI; Maslach and Jackson, workers were found to have significantly
198 1)-emotional exhaustion (9 items), de- higher emotionality scores than older workers.
personalization (5 items), and personal ac- Role ambiguity and role conflict were
complishment (8 items)-were used to mea- measured by the Role Questionnaire devel-
sure level of burnout. Respondents were asked oped by Rizzo, House, and Lirtzman (1970).
to indicate how frequently (from 0 = never The Role Contlict scale consisted of eight
to 6 = everyday) and how intensely (from items which respondents rated from 1 (state-
0 = never to 7 = major, very strong) they ment definitely not ture of respondent’s job)
experienced the feelings described in the items. to 7 (statement is extremely true of respon-
Higher scores represent greater frequency and dent’s job). Higher scores indicate greater
intensity of feelings. role conflict. The Role Ambiguity scale con-
Several previous researchers have utilized sisted of six items with the same response
only Frequency subscale scores in multivari- parameters as for role conflict. Item re-
ate analyses due to the high correlation sponses were reverse scored; thus, higher
consistently found between Intensity and scores represented greater role ambiguity.
Frequency scores (e.g., Whitehead, 1987). Cronbach’s alpha was found to be .86 for
Thomas (1988:52) has pointed out that stress Role Conflict and .84 for Role Ambiguity.
must be both frequent and intense for it to Younger and older officers did not differ sig-
have a chronic effect on the individual. Ac- nificantly as to levels of role conflict and role
cordingly, in this study combined scores were ambiguity.
used to represent level of burnout. Frequency Perceived participation in decisionmaking
and Intensity scores were standardized and was assessed using a 3-item measure devel-
added to yield a single score for each of the oped by the authors, based on items sug-
twenty-two items of the MBI. Subscale scores gested by Whitehead (1987:4). Subjects were
for each of the three dimensions of burnout asked to respond on a Likert scale ranging
330 ALINA HOLGATE and IAN CLEGG

from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) in decisionmaking was negatively correlated

to the following three statements: I. Man- with each (greater participation in decision
agement tries to get ideas and opinions from making. less role ambiguity and role con-
officers before making decisions; 2. Workers flict). Role ambiguity correlated positively
have sufficient input into decisions about how with lack of personal accomplishment for
policy will be implemented at a regional level: both groups. and for the older group role
3. Management seeks sufficient l’eedback from conflict was positively correlated with
workers. Higher scores indicate a perception depersonalization.
that workers have a high degree of partici- For the younger group there was appar-
pation in the decisionmaking process. Cron- ently JKI correlation between levels of client
bath’s alpha was found to be .X3, suggesting contact and the three dimensions of burnout.
good internal consistency. Younger and older However. the personality dimension of cmo-
officers did not differ significantly as to per- tionality, in addition to being positively cor-
ceived participation in decisionmaking. related with depersonalization for the younger
Amount of client contact was mcasurcd by group. was also positively correlated with
asking respondents to indicate the number of levels of client contact. In contrast. for the
hours per week they spent in actual face-to- older group. cmotionality, emotional cxhaus-
face interactions with clients, from five cat- tion. and lack of personal accomplis\hment
egories, which ranged from O-4 hours per were negatively correlated with levels of client
week to X-25 hours per week. Kcsponhes contact
were coded from 1 (O-4 hours) to 5 (2C25 Figure 1 shows the significant standarized
hours) and treated as interval-level data for path coefficients between variables for the
the purposes of analysis. Both younger and younger group. Examination of the path model
older officers reported an average of 1O- 14 reveals an interesting and complex pattern of
hours per week of face-to-face client contact. associations. For the younger group the prr-
To construct the causal path models l’or the sonality dimension of emotionality had a sig-
two groups. all variables assumed to be nificant direct effect upon both emotional
causally prior to any dependent variable wcrc exhaustion and client contact, but it was un-
combined into one equation and regressed onto related to any other variable in the model. Role
that variable. In order to construct the most conflict also had a direct pohitive effect upon
parsimonious representation of causal rcla- emotional exhaustion and client contact, The
tionships, where nonsignificant paths were d‘fect of both role conflict and emotionality
found, these were cxcludcd. and models were was to increase levels of emotional cxhaus-
reestimated. The final models represent all of tion and, paradoxically, to increase the amount
those paths between variables which were of client contact. Examination of Table 1
found to be significant once models were shows that for the younger group the zcro-
reestimated. order correlation coefficient between emo-
tional exhaustion and client contact was non-
significant. However, when the effects of
RESULTS AND lNTERPRETATlON emotionality and role conflict on client con-
tact were statistically controlled for, cmo-
Table 1 shows the zero-order correlation tional exhaustion was found to have an in-
coefficients. means. and standard deviations dependent negative direct effect on client
for all variables in the models for both the contact (that is, greater exhaustion led to de-
younger (above the diagonal) and older (bc- creased client contact). Examination of par-
low the diagonal) age groups. For both groups, tial correlation coefficients (not reported)
depersonalization. role conflict. role ambi- suggests that cmotionality acted as a sup-
guity, and emotionality all correlated posi- prcssor variable for the effect of emotional
tively with emotional exhaustion. Again ~OJ exhaustion upon client contact (tOr 3 discus-
both groups, role ambiguity and role conflict sion of the statistical effect of suppressor
were positively corrciated. and participation variables, act Cohen and Cohen. 1975).
 TABLE 1

CORRELATION COEFHCIENTS, MEANS, AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FOR ALL MODEL VARIABLES FOR BOTH AC;E GROUPS

(Younger) (Older)
N = 55 iv = 51

Vuriuble I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mean S.D. Mean S.D.

20.7(F) 9.97 16.8(F) 11.1

1. Emotional exhaustion * .49 .22 -.06 .41 .30 -.28 .40 12.75 29.1 (I) 15
32 (I)
8.2(F) 5.66 5.8(F) 5.9
2. Depersonalization .58 * -.06 -.07 .26 .19 -.02 .32 12.8(I) 8.54 10.7(I) 9
15.1(F) 6.73 13.6(F) 6.94
3. Lack of personal accomplishment .I6 .I7 * .I0 .29 .41 -.15 .20 17.1(I) 7.87 15.6(I) 6.64
4. Client contract -.34 -.I6 p.41 * .28 .25 -.21 .44
5. Role conflict .50 .58 .I2 -.05 * .58 -.30 .27 30.2 9.5 28.7 12.2
6. Role ambiguity .37 .21 .41 -.21 .38 * -.41 .28 19.1 7.48 18.6 7.19
7. Participation in decisionmaking -.26 -.I1 -.20 .I6 - .47 -.59 * p.17 7.94 2.73 9.38 2.52
8. Emotionality .34 .I5 .13 -.37 .Ol .I6 -.02 * 5.74 1.73 4.66 1.41

Younger group (M age = 29 ahove the diagonal; older group (M age = 43) below the diagonal. For both groups, client contact averaged 10-14 hours per
week.
332 ALINA HOLGATE and IAN CLEGG

EMOTIONAL
EXHAUSTION

ROLE CONFLICT

PARTICIPATION IN

Figure 1. Path model of the burnout process of the younger (19-35 years) probation officer.

An interpretation of this finding is that the proposed dimensions of burnout, then, do not
effect of emotional exhaustion on client con- appear to form a linked process with one di-
tact for younger officers depends upon the mension preceding and causing the other;
personality disposition of the individual of- rather, determinants of each of the dimen-
ficer. For officers low in emotionality, emo- sions are independent.
tional exhaustion decreases the amount of For the younger group, high levels of role
client contact they engage in. Those officers conflict predicted role ambiguity. Role am-
high in emotionality, however, apparently biguity was, however, the only variable in the
continue to engage in high levels of client model that directly affected lack of personal
contact, regardless of their level of emotional accomplishment; participation in decision-
exhaustion. making had an indirect effect on this dimen-
Figure I shows that emotional exhaustion sion of burnout through its direct effect upon
is the only variable in the model which had role ambiguity. It is clear from the model that
a direct effect on depersonalization. This the effects of personality and of organiza-
suggests that either emotional exhaustion is tional variables on burnout and client contact
the primary determinant of feelings of de- are independent of one another since no sig-
personalization or that measures of emotional nificant paths were found between these vari-
exhaustion and depersonalization essentially ables. The level of role conflict and role am-
tap into the same construct. biguity an officer feels is, therefore, unrelated
It is noteworthy that neither emotional ex- to his or her personality disposition.
haustion nor depersonalization had a signif- Figure 2 displays the significant standar-
icant relationship with lack of personal ac- ized path coefficients between variables for
complishment and that predictors of lack of the older age group. In contrast to the find-
personal accomplishment were unrelated to ings for the younger age group, neither role
predictors of emotional exhaustion. The three conflict nor emotionality had a direct effect
 The Path to Probation Officer Burnout 333

EMOTIONALIW

.33

\ r”= 37
EMOTIONAL
EXHAUSTION

r2= 26
.IENT CONTACT

LACK OF PERSONAL
ACCOMPLISHMENT

34
ROLE AMBIGUITY

Figure 2. Path model of the burnout process of the older (36-58 years) probation officer.

upon client contact for the older group, al-
though both of these variables had a direct
effect upon emotional exhaustion. The pri-
mary determinants of decreased client con-
tact for the older group were emotional ex-
haustion and lack of personal accomplishment.
These dimensions of burnout, therefore, ap-
pear the have had more direct effects on client
contact for older officers, which was not in-
fluenced by the personality dispositions of the
individual officers, as it was for the younger
group. It would appear, then, that although
in this sample younger probation officers did
not report higher levels of burnout than did
older officers, the causal process of burnout
differed according to age.
In the older group, role conflict, along with
emotional exhaustion, was found to have a
direct effect upon depersonalization. Role
conflict and role ambiguity were unrelated for
the older group, and each was directly af-
fected by participation in decisionmaking, with
lower levels of participation in decisionmak-
ing leading to greater role ambiguity and role
conflict. As was the case for the younger
group, role ambiguity was the only variable
that directly affected lack of personal accom-
plishment; participation in decisionmaking
indirectly affected lack of personal accom-
plishment via its effect upon role ambiguity.
Figure 2 confirms that, as for the younger of-
ficers, organizational factors contributed to
burnout in the older officers independently of
the effect of personality and that, while emo-
tional exhaustion and depersonalization were
related, neither of these contributed to lack
of personal accomplishment.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Findings of this research support previous
findings that although burnout is not endemic
among probation officers, the consequences
of burnout within the field are. nevertheles\, The response of younger probation officers
serious. In contrast to previous findings to burnout is more complex. For younger of-
(Whitehead, 1985: 107; Whitehead and Lind- ficers the effect of burnout on client contact
quist. 1986:39: Get-stein ct al.. 19X7:361: is mediated by personality factors. Paradox-
Whitehead, 1987:X). younger probation of- ically, high levels of emotionality contribute
ficers in this sample did not report greater not only to emotional exhaustion but also to
burnout than did older officers. Findings sug- increased client contact. Maslach and Jack-
gest, however, that the antecedents and cf- son ( 19X I : i 2) have susgcsted that “certain
fects of burnout differed substantiaily be- personality traits may mediate both t’e-elings
tween younger and older officers. of burnout and coping style.” In the present
The present study differed from previous ruscarcli. youiIgc-‘r probation officers wcrc
research into detenninants of burnout among found to bc significantly higher in emotion-
probation officers in that level of client con- ality than oidcr ot‘ticm. Although officers high
tact was conceptualized as a response to in emotionality may he expected to rxperi-
burnout rather than a cause of burnout. It cncc greater stress in the Lvork environment.
should be noted. however, that the question they may also be expcctcd to use inappro-
of the causal role of client contact in burnout priate coping strategies in dealing with work
can only be answered via longitudinal re- stress ! Kahn ct al,. I96l:X)). I‘he findings
search. It needs to be established whether 01‘ the pre4ent recarch 4ufgest that younger
avoidance of client contact is a response to officers who arc high in cmotionality deal with
burnout initially hr-olcght uhorlt by high levels their emotional cxhau\tion and role conflict
of client contact. Consistent with suggestions by attempting to work harder. despite the dis-
by Maslach and Jackson ( 1981:8) and Mas- tress and confusion that arc likely to result.
lath (19X2:3). path moclels presented here Howcvcr. trying to work harder without any
suggest that emotional exhaustion results in clear direction is likely only to exacerbate
a decreased willingness to engage in client confusion and result in greater exhaustion.
contact. The corollary 01‘ the findings of This procc\s may ;iccol!nt for the high
Whitehead and Lindquist ( I %)x6:3.5) and turnover among younger and less experi-
Whitehead (lYX7:X). that client contact is as- enced probation officer5 in Victoria in their
sociated with personal accomplishment among first year of employment. Possibly younger
probation officers, is that those officers who officers hi,@ in ernotionality quickly become
lack feelings of personal accomplishment may burned out and lea\c the field. whcrca\ oI‘-
avoid client contact when they can. This titers low in eniotionality succumb less readily
finding emerged in the present research for to burnout and continue in the field. even-
older officers. Probation officer burnout tually to constitute the older. niorc experi-
should, then. raise concern. since avoidance enced group. If this is the cast, it would ex-
of client contact is presumably counterprod- plain the dill:rence\ in measured levels ot
uctive to efforts at offender rehabilitation. emotionality 1;mncl in this research between
Moreover, the effect of burnout on client the younger and older officcra.
contact differed substantially between younger Initial recruitment of probation officers
and older probation officers. Among older should. then. consider the personality dirnen-
officers, emotional exhaustion and lack ot sion of cniotionality in selecting applicants.
personal accomplishment contributed to de- Marc careful placement and mentation ot
creased client contact. This I‘inding helps ex- applicants high In cmoticmality c~ulcl help
plain previous findings that older and more anlelioratc both levels of burnout among
burned-out corrections and probation officer\ younger. less expericnccd probation officers
engaged in less client contact (Whitehead and and levels of staff turnover within the
Lindquist. 1986:31: Thomas. 19X8:57), and organization.
it is consistent with suggestions that older, The path models also dcmonstratcd. how-
more experienced workers tend to respond to cvcr. that organizational I‘actors arc a key
burnout by disengaging from their work. d~tcrminant of bu~mout arntrn~ probation
 The Path to Probation Officer Burnout 335

officers. Further, organizational contributors enced officers are likely to be considering ad-
to burnout were independent of any contri- vancement within the organization. White-
bution of personality (emotionality was un- head (1986; 1987: 14), for example, found that
related to any variables in the models apart older probation officers reported special dis-
from those paths indicated). Consistent with satisfaction with career development oppor-
numerous previous findings (Cheek and tunities within the field of corrections.
Miller, 1983: 1 15; Whitehead and Lindquist, As suggested by Brown (1986:6) and
1985:116; 1986:35; Gerstein et al., 1987:360; Whitehead (1985: 107; 1987: 15), role ambi-
Whitehead, 19X7:8), the results of this study guity and role conflict among younger pro-
highlight the importance of role conflict and bation officers may be addressed best by pro-
role ambiguity as contributors to burnout viding closer, more creative supervision, as
among probation officers. Although initial well as greater training and communication
selection of people better equipped person- of policy and procedure. Younger probation
ally to deal with the stress of probation work officers also need to be encouraged to seek
is one approach to dealing with burnout. or- organizational support when they experience
ganizational contributors also must be ad- conflict rather than attempting to go it alone.
dressed if the cost of burnout in the correc- For older workers, role conflict and ambi-
tions field is to be substantially alleviated. guity may be addressed best through guid-
In the present research, role contlict and ance in such issues as advancement within the
role ambiguity were found to contribute in- organization, occupational retraining, and re-
dependently to different aspects of burnout, tirement planning.
with role conflict contributing only to emo- Consistent with previous findings and the-
tional exhaustion and depersonalization (as ory (Brown, 1986:5; Whitehead and Lind-
found by Whitehead, 1987:8) and role am- quist, 1986:35; Whitehead, 1987:8; Cher-
biguity contributing only to lack of persona1 niss, 1980:98-lOl), this study points to the
accomplishment. One interpretation of this important role of participation in decision-
finding is that role conflict usually evokes an making in directly influencing the amount of
affective response whereas role ambiguity role ambiguity and role conflict experienced
evokes cognitive uncertainty. Role conflict is by probation officers. It is clear that increas-
therefore more likely to lead to feelings of ing officers’ role in decisionmaking is an im-
emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, portant way to address burnout at an orga-
whereas role ambiguity is more likely to lead nizational level. As pointed out by Whitehead
to cognitive uncertainty as to whether goals ( 1987:6), participation in decisionmaking
have been achieved, thus leading to lack of cannot reduce objective workloads; however,
personal accomplishment. Future research it may be able to ameliorate some of the af-
which seeks to describe the process of burn- fective consequences of burnout through the
out perhaps should distinguish between af- demonstration that management is responsive
fective and cognitive antecedents and con- to the concerns of field officers, and it can
sequences of burnout so that that appropriate reduce cognitive uncertainty by maximizing
coping mechanisms can be identified more the information available to officers about
specifically. ways in which to deal with objective work
Although the path models showed that the demands.
contributions of role conflict and role ambi- Path models presented here show that nei-
guity to burnout were similar for the younger ther emotional exhaustion nor depersonal-
and older probation officers, it could be ar- ization accounted for variance in lack of
gued that sources of conflict and ambiguity personal accomplishment. Further, the deter-
are likely to differ for younger and older of- minants of each aspect of burnout were found
ficers, who are presumably at different stages to be independent of each other. Those or-
of their careers. While younger officers may ganizational factors associated with cognitive
be trying to determine working strategies and uncertainty appear to be the primary deter-
establish their careers, older, more experi- minants of lack of personal accomplishment,
336 ALINA HOLGATE and IAN CLEGG

whereas organizational factors evoking a tional burnout is likely to become more acute.
negative affective response (and personality If funding bodies are concerned about max-
correlates of negative affect) were associated imizing the effectiveness of the system,
with emotional exhaustion and depersonal- priority should be given to addressing the
ization. As suggested previously, future re- causes of burnout among workers in the field
search should distinguish between affective of corrections.
and cognitive aspects of burnout and explore
the independent determinants of each rather
than assume that any other work aspect nec-
essarily will result in a burnout syndrome. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Perhaps it is time for reserchers to abandon

The authors w,ould llkc tv acknowledge the valuable
“burnout” as an umbrella term and refer to contribution of John Wangeman, Department of Psy-
more precisely defined aspects of occupa- chology. Swinbume Institue of Technolgoy, to this
rcscarch.
tional stress.
The findings of this study not only support
previous findings that burnout within the field
NOTE
of corrections is best conceptualized as a re-
sponse to organizational stress, they also sug- I. In Victoria, Australia. probatwn officers arc rc-
gest that the process of burnout differs de- ferrcd to as Community Corrections Officers and arc
responsible for both probation and parole work.
pending upon the age (and career stage) of
the individual probation officer. If the pcr-
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