Correlates of burnout among military personnel of Sri Lanka Army: a nested case-control study

Burnout is well known mental health problem that can be found in many occupational settings. Due to the potential for concentrating known antecedents, the military context is particularly susceptible to burnout. Sri Lanka Army is the main focal asset in national security, resilience in disaster or any other national threat as the defender of the nation. Due to recent reforms, there is an increased risk that the Sri Lanka Army to experience known correlates of burnout. For the development of policies to enhance the mental health of the army community, it is essential to determine the influential power of those elements.

A nested case-control study was carried out. Cases and controls were selected from a cohort of 1692 army soldiers that had been previously chosen to investigate the prevalence of burnout. The validated MBI-GS (Sinhala version), the brief COPE, and the structured questionnaire on correlates of burnout were all included in the self-administered questionnaire for data collection. Cases and controls were defined using the findings of the criteria validity evaluation of MBI-GS (Sinhala version); 386 cases and 766 controls were selected as per the desired case-control ratio of 1:2. After doing a bivariate analysis for dichotomous variables and an independent t test for continuous variables, a binary logistic regression was carried out to determine the antecedents.

Altogether 29 factors were identified as significant correlates of burnout through bivariate analysis and t tests, out of those only 14 factors were confirmed through logistic regression. Age of 30 years or below, no additional income, no saved money, have bed ridden dependent, having transport difficulties, past history of psychiatric treatment, family history of psychiatry, frustration about life, being a daily smoker, and practicing dysfunctional coping strategies were identified as risk factors. Whereas satisfied on children support, received special training relevant to current tasks, able to get leave timely and practicing problem focused coping strategies were identified as protective factors.

Identified antecedents should consider at policy making of the organization. Early attention and proper action is strongly recommended.