The psychometrical properties of translated versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey

SA Journal of Industrial Psychology

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The psychometrical properties of translated versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey
 
Creator Marais, Carin Mostert, Karina Rothmann, Sebastiaan
 
Subject Industrial Psychology burnout; construct validity; construct equivalence; reliability; police officers
Description Orientation: The investigation of the psychometric properties of translated versions of a burnout measure.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of translated versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Cognitive Weariness Scale.Motivation for the study: To adhere to Section 8 of the Employment Equity Act, Act No. 55 of 1998 (p. 7), which stipulates that ‘Psychological testing and other similar assessments are prohibited unless the test or assessment being used (a) has been scientifi cally shown to be valid and reliable, (b) can be applied fairly to all employees, and (c) is not biased against any employee or group.’Research design, approach and method: The current study follows the quantitative research tradition. This study was conducted with a convenience sample of members of the South African Police Service (SAPS; N = 685). The questionnaires were translated into Afrikaans and Setswana and were administered together with the original English version.Main findings: The results indicated that a four-factor model, consisting of Exhaustion, Cynicism, Professional Effi cacy, and Cognitive Weariness or Burnout, fi tted the data best. The scales did not show measurement invariance for Afrikaans, Setswana and English samples. The reliabilities of the Exhaustion and Professional Effi cacy subscales were acceptable in the three samples.Practical/managerial implications: The implication of the results of the study under review is that the adapted MBI-GS scores obtained by the English, Afrikaans and Setswana home language speaking participants were not comparable in terms of the different translations of the instrument. Therefore, separate norms have to be developed to assess the extent of burnout experienced by the English, Afrikaans and Setswana home language speaking members of the SAPS who participated in the study. As the translated versions of the adapted MBI-GS are clearly not equivalent, more studies are needed to minimise the semantic differences existing between the different translations of the instrument.Contribution/Value-add: To date, no research regarding burnout has been conducted in South Africa within the different language groups by means of translated measuring instruments.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2009-10-21
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — This study follows the quantitative research tradition
Format application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajip.v35i1.838
 
Source SA Journal of Industrial Psychology; Vol 35, No 1 (2009); 8 pages 2071-0763 0258-5200
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/838/864
 
Coverage North West Province, South Africa 2006 A convenience sample of members of the South African Police Service (N = 685) was taken.
Rights Copyright (c) 2009 Carin Marais, Karina Mostert, Sebastiaan Rothmann https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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