Construct validity of the maslach burnout inventory: Two Swedish health care samples

Burnout has become a serious matter in workplace health, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. (MBI) is today the most widely used instrument for assessing the construct empirically. The present study examined the construct validity of a Swedish translation of the instrument for human service employees (MBI-HSS). Data from two samples of health care workers (N = 448 and N = 462) were used to test six propositions concerning dimensionality, internal consistency, measurement model stability, and relationships with predictors and outcomes. Support for the postulated three-factor model of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and (reduced) personal accomplishment as well as for adequate reliabilities of the dimensions was found. A post hoc modification of the MBI was suggested in order to improve model fit. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated stability of measurement model parameters across organizational settings. Moreover, the propositions about the association between the burnout dimensions, and predictors and outcomes were partly supported. Taken together, these tests provide strong support for the construct validity of the Swedish translation of the MBI-HSS.