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Degree

EdD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Counselor Education, 2012.

Abstract

This study explores interrelationship among social support, demographic factors, mental and physical health and job satisfaction among mental health professionals. Past research of the impact of health in work among mental health professionals has focused on clinicians who directly provide mental health services to clients and focus on burnout (e.g., Farber & Heifetz, 1982). Little attention has been paid to the other mental health professionals who may also work as supervisors and administrators. This study aimed at investigating how different positions, years of experience, gender and social support would impact mental health professionals’ physical health, mental health and job satisfaction. It was hypothesized that job satisfaction would be positively influenced by mental health and physical health which would be influenced by gender, years of experience, position, and social support. Mental health professionals from three local mental health counseling centers in a Midwest state were recruited to participate in the study. Instruments used included the Duke Health Profile (Parkerson, Broadhead, & Tse, 1990), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988), an Adapted Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Hackman and Lawler’s (1971) questions assessing job satisfaction, and a demographic questionnaire. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to examine the hypothesized relationship among the demographic factors, social support, mental and physical health and job satisfaction. The results from the study were mixed. Not all of the variables studied affected mental health or physical health. Social support was found to influence both physical and mental health; however years-of- experience was only related to mental health. Neither gender of position was found to have significant relationship to mental and physical health. The study found a strong path from social support to mental health, and ultimately to job satisfaction, suggesting the mediating role of mental health between predicting variables and job satisfaction. It is also noted that physical health, though not having a direct significant relationship to job satisfaction, did have indirect influence to job satisfaction through its significant relationship with mental health. The findings of this study that social support and mental health play an important role in helping professionals’ job satisfaction indicate the importance of maintaining psychological well-being and providing supportive environment to workers in mental health agencies. Counselor educators could apply this finding to incorporate training about self-care and promoting social interaction and support in the curriculum.

Subject Headings

Mental Health

Keywords

Counselor; Mental health; Physical Health; Job satisfaction; burnout; social work

Committee / Advisors

Mei Tang, PhD (Committee Chair)
Wei Pan, PhD (Committee Member)
Geoffrey Yager, PhD (Committee Member)

Pages

134p.

Document number: ucin1337715058
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1337715058

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