Need for supervision, job satisfaction and mental health of professional helpers employed by service providers for persons with disabilities

Cilj ovoga istraživanja jest ispitati potrebu za supervizijom i njezinu povezanost s duljinom radnog staža, zadovoljstvom poslom i mentalnim zdravljem profesionalnih pomagača koji su zaposleni kod pružatelja usluga za osobe s invaliditetom te ispitati razlike u njihovoj potrebi za supervizijom, zadovoljstvu poslom i mentalnom zdravlju s obzirom na primarnu vrstu oštećenja korisničke skupine s kojom rade. U istraživanju je putem online ankete sudjelovalo 146 profesionalnih pomagača zaposlenih kod pružatelja usluga za osobe s invaliditetom na području Republike Hrvatske koji su različitih struka i koji rade s osobama s intelektualnim, mentalnim, tjelesnim, osjetilnim ili višestrukim oštećenjima. Kako bi se ispitali istraživački problemi korišteni su sljedeći upitnici: Sociodemografski upitnik, Upitnik za ispitivanje percipirane potrebe za supervizijom, Indeks zadovoljstva poslom i Hrvatska verzija upitnika mentalnog zdravlja MHC-SF. Istraživanje je pokazalo kako postoji negativna povezanost između izraženosti potrebe za supervizijom i duljine radnog staža te kako ne postoji povezanost između izraženosti potrebe za supervizijom te zadovoljstva poslom i mentalnog zdravlja profesionalnih pomagača. Također, rezultati istraživanja pokazali su kako ne postoji statistički značajna razlika u potrebi za supervizijom, zadovoljstvu poslom i mentalnom zdravlju profesionalnih pomagača s obzirom na primarnu vrstu oštećenja korisničke skupine s kojom rade.The aim of this research is to examine the need for supervision and its connection with length of service, job satisfaction and mental health of professional helpers who are employed by service providers for persons with disabilities, and to examine the differences in their need for supervision, job satisfaction and mental health with regard to the primary type of impairment of the user group they work with. Through an online survey, 146 professional helpers employed by service providers for persons with disabilities in the Republic of Croatia who work with people with intellectual, mental, physical, sensory or multiple impairments participated in the research. In order to examine the research problems, the following questionnaires were used: Sociodemographic questionnaire, Questionnaire for examining the perceived need for supervision, Job satisfaction index and the Croatian version of the MHC-SF mental health questionnaire. The research showed that there is a negative relationship between the expression of the need for supervision and the length of work experience, and that there is no relationship between the expression of the need for supervision and job satisfaction, as well as the mental health of professional helpers. Also, the results of the research showed that there is no statistically significant difference in the need for supervision, job satisfaction and mental health of professional helpers with regard to the primary type of impairment of the user group they work with