Feelings of Existential Fulfilment and Burnout Among Secondary School Teachers

Abstract Teacher burnout is recognized as a serious problem. In research it has been related to many person-specific variables; one of these, the variable of existential fulfilment, has received very little attention thus far. The present study focuses on the relationship between existential fulfilment and burnout among secondary school teachers in the Netherlands (N = 504). Existential fulfilment was made operational by means of the Existential Fulfilment Scale, which distinguishes between three dimensions: self-acceptance, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed a three-dimensional construct with interdependent dimensions. Burnout was measured by the Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for teachers. Negative relationships between the existential fulfilment dimensions on the one hand and the burnout dimensions exhaustion and cynicism on the other were hypothesized, as well as positive relationships between the existential fulfilment dimensions and the burnout dimension professional efficacy. The hypotheses were confirmed, except for the relationships between self-transcendence and exhaustion and self-transcendence and cynicism, which appeared not to be significant. The inquiry demonstrated the importance of existential fulfilment for the prevalence and prevention of burnout among teachers. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications for future research

Conceptualization, Construction and Validation of the Existential Fulfilment Scale

research articleThis study presents the development and validation of the Existential Fulfilment Scale. Following Frankl’s concepts of life meaning and existential vacuum, the authors elaborate the construct of existential fulfilment. Three basic attitudes are distinguished, viz. selfacceptance, self-actualization, and self-transcendence, all of which deal with overcoming the conflicts caused by the human existential boundaries. A new scale has been developed out of Längle’s Existence Scale, the Existential Fulfilment Scale. Its advantage is that it distinguishes psychologically unhealthy, self-alienating purposes in life from healthy ones. Well-known measures such as Purpose in Life Test, Life Regard Inventory, and Sense of Coherence, fail to do so. The Existential Fulfilment Scale has been tested among 812 Dutch individuals. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis make clear that the three basic attitudes of existential fulfilment should be interpreted as distinct dimensions

Assessing the equivalence of web-based and paper-and-pencil questionnaires using differential item and test functioning (DIF and DTF) analysis:A case of the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ)

Purpose:  Many paper-and-pencil (P&P) questionnaires have been migrated to electronic platforms. Differential item and test functioning (DIF and DTF) analysis constitutes a superior research design to assess measurement equivalence across modes of administration. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate an item response theory (IRT)-based DIF and DTF analysis to assess the measurement equivalence of a Web-based version and the original P&P format of the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ), measuring distress, depression, anxiety, and somatization. Methods:  The P&P group (n=2031) and the Web group (n=958) consisted of primary care psychology clients. Unidimensionality and local independence of the 4DSQ scales were examined using IRT and Yen’s Q3. Bifactor modeling was used to assess the scales’ essential unidimensionality. Measurement equivalence was assessed using IRT-based DIF analysis using a 3-stage approach: linking on the latent mean and variance, selection of anchor items, and DIF testing using the Wald test. DTF was evaluated by comparing expected scale scores as a function of the latent trait. Results:  The 4DSQ scales proved to be essentially unidimensional in both modalities. Five items, belonging to the distress and somatization scales, displayed small amounts of DIF. DTF analysis revealed that the impact of DIF on the scale levelwas negligible. Conclusions:  IRT-based DIF and DTF analysis is demonstrated as a way to assess the equivalence of Web-based and P&P questionnaire modalities. Data obtained with the Web-based 4DSQ are equivalent to data obtained with the P&P version