Validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey on a Representative Sample of Dominican Teachers: Normative Data

Abstract

Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lack of personal accomplishment (Bakke, Demerouti, & Sanz-Vergel, 2014). Several instruments for its measurement exist, but the most widely used scale for measuring its dimensions, by far, is the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) in its different versions. Among the available versions of the scale, the MBI-General Survey was developed to measure three dimensions of burnout (cynicism, personal accomplishment, and emotional exhaustion) regardless of the type of work. The aim of this research is to offer evidence on the psychometric properties of the MBI-GS for its use in the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean Spanish-speaking countries, using representative sample of Dominican teachers. The factorial validity was studied through confirmatory factor analysis. Several competing models were proved in order to test the dimensionality of the scale. The confirmatory analyses shown that the original three-factor structure had a superior fit, but item eleven was removed in order to get an excellent fit χ2(87) = 211.19, p < .001, CFI = .98, RMSEA = .038 90% CI [.032-.045]. Regarding internal consistency, the CRI´s are well above the cut-off criteria of .7 (CRI's ranged from .74 to .86). Concerning criterion-related validity, the three factors were correlated in the expected direction. Professional efficacy, a dimension of burnout measured in the opposite direction, was positively correlated with the three factors of work engagement, also as expected. This version was found to be a psychometrically sound measure of the three core dimensions of burnout.