The relationship of sense of coherence and job characteristics in the consideration of burnout : confound or moderator?

M.Phil.This minor dissertation examines the relationship among personality, job characteristics and burnout. Specifically, the moderating role that Sense of Coherence (Antonovsky, 1979) plays in the relationship between the Job Demand-Control-Support model (Johnson & Hall, 1988; Karasek, 1979) and burnout is examined. A cross sectional study used self reported measures of demands, control, support, Sense of Coherence and burnout. Participants spanned age, race, and occupational categories. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses gave evidence for the additive effects of demands, control, and support in predicting burnout. Minimal support was found for the buffering effects of control. Results show that Sense of Coherence has a direct effect on burnout and moderates the effect of demands on exhaustion, and the effect of support on all burnout dimensions. Limitations, recommendations for future research and implications are discussed