The Moderating Relations of Mindful Self-Care and Role Stressors with Stress and Burnout in School Psychologists

School psychologists take on many tasks and responsibilities in their practice, whether that be in the schools, clinics, or private practices. In this role, they risk experiencing ongoing stress which can result in feelings of burnout. Although previous literature on this topic has mentioned methods of coping with stress and burnout, there has been little research on the impact of mindful self-care methods and types of stress, such as role stressors, on levels of stress and burnout in school psychologists. This research examined the moderating effects of mindful self-care and role stressors on the relation between stress and burnout in school psychologists. Three-hundred and fifty practicing school psychologists completed the School Psychologist Distress Inventory, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, emotional exhaustion items from the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Mindful Self-Care Scale, and the New Role Stressors Scale. Moderation analyses revealed that mindful self-care and role stressors were not statistically significant moderators of the relation between stress and overall burnout. However, mindful self-care and role stressors were statistically significant moderators of the relation between stress and emotional exhaustion. These findings indicate the importance of school psychologists incorporating mindful self-care methods and acknowledging the potentiality for role stressors, which may further influence their stress and feelings of burnout