Coping, burnout, and emotion in staff working in community services for people with challenging behaviors

Staff in mental retardation services identify challenging behavior as a significant source of work-related stress. However, there has been little examination of the psychological processes that may explain an association between challenging behavior and staff stress. In the present study, direct-care staff (N = 83) from five community services completed a questionnaire on their emotional reactions to aggressive behavior, the coping strategies that they employ, and their experience of burnout. Staff more frequently reported using adaptive strategies than maladaptive ones to cope with aggressive behavior. Regression analyses showed that staff disengagement and adaptive coping strategies and their emotional reactions to aggressive behavior predicted burnout scores. Implications of these results for future research and for staff mental health are discussed.