work & stress, 2000, vol. 14, no.

1, 35–50

A test of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in

three samples of healthcare professionals
THOMAS J. KALLIATH* and MICHAEL P. O’DRISCOLL
Department of Psychology, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton,
New Zealand

DAVID F. GILLESPIE
George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis,
St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA

ALLEN C. BLUEDORN
Department of Management, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia,
Missouri 65211–6100, USA

Keywords: Burnout; Nurses ; Laboratory technicians ; Managers.

Structural equation modelling with LISREL was used to investigate the factor structure of the
Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Emotional exhaustion was the most robust of the MBI’s three
factors, followed by depersonalization, while the personal accomplishment factor performed weakly.
A new measurement model was developed in a sample of 197 nurses consisting of the emotional
exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions, which were measured with  ve and two empirical
MBI indicators, respectively. A test of invariance of the two-factor model across three samples (i.e.
one calibration sample of nurses, and two validation samples consisting of hospital laboratory
technicians and hospital managers with an eŠ ective sample size of 445) produced a good  t for the
proposed two-factor model. Assessment of psychometric properties of the two-factor model
produced (1) internal consistencies comparable to those reported in the literature for the MBI’s
originally speci ed emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scales, and (2) correlations with
criterion variables that were all in the expected direction and magnitude, comparable to those
produced by the originally speci ed scales. Theoretical implications for the use of the two-factor
model in burnout research are discussed.

1. Introduction
The conceptualization and measurement of burnout among human service professionals
have centred on the most widely used instrument in burnout research—the Maslach
Burnout Inventory (MBI ; Maslach, and Jackson, 1981, 1986). The three factors of the MBI
(emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment) have been
alternatively conceptualized as three correlated dimensions of one factor (Lee, and
Ashforth, 1993; Maslach, and Jackson, 1985), as three separate factors that evolve
diŠ erentially over time to create varying degrees of burnout (Golembiewski, and
Munzenrider, 1988), and as three separate factors, one of which (emotional exhaustion)
re‚ ects the essence of burnout (Koeske, and Koeske, 1993; Reilly, 1994). Clarifying the
construct validity of the MBI has implications for the degree of con dence that may be

* Author for correspondence. e-mail : kalliath!waikato.ac.nz

Work & Stress ISSN 0267-8373 print}ISSN 1464-5335 online ’ 2000 Taylor & Francis Ltd
http: }} www.tandf.co.uk}journals
36 T. J. Kalliath et al.

placed in  ndings obtained from the many studies that have used it to investigate the
burnout phenomenon.
Maslach (1993) has suggested that employees who are suŠ ering from burnout  rst
experience exhaustion, then depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. In
contrast, Golembiewski, and Munzenrider (1988) have argued that the chain of events
begins with depersonalization, which induces feelings of inadequacy, and ends with the
development of emotional exhaustion. Data have been presented to support both
arguments. Recent evidence indicates that while exhaustion and depersonalization are
clearly interrelated (Cordes, and Dougherty, 1993), personal accomplishment may be a
separate aspect of the burnout syndrome that develops in parallel with (rather than
sequentially from) emotional exhaustion (Lee, and Ashforth, 1993, 1996; Leiter, 1993).
Most studies that have examined the factor structure of the MBI have used single-sample,
cross-sectional designs (Cordes, and Dougherty, 1993). These studies have used summative
scales, ordinary least squares regression, and exploratory factor analyses. The problem with
using summative scales and ordinary least squares regression for such purposes is that errors
of measurement are not controlled for. These methods simply set such errors to zero and
assume perfect measurement, an assumption that is never veri ed empirically. Hence, these
methods contain signi cant speci cation error, which means that the standard errors of the
estimates will not correctly re‚ ect the degree of measurement of error. Although structural
equation modelling (SEM) can overcome these limitations, only a few studies of burnout
have used structural equation modelling to examine the MBI’s factor structure (Cordes, and
Dougherty, 1993).
A modi ed version of the MBI has been developed by Maslach and her colleagues
(Maslach, Jackson, and Leiter, 1996) for use with non-service occupations, which assesses
parallel dimensions to those contained in the original MBI. Speci c changes include a
refocusing of depersonalization to cynicism (towards the workplace as well as to people with
whom the employee interacts) and broadening the notion of personal accomplishment to
professional e‰cacy. For the present sample, however, the original MBI is appropriate. While
it is true that the amount of direct patient contact among hospital laboratory technicians
and managers is less than that for nurses, the MBI was designed for use with all categories
of human service workers.

2. The MBI factor structure

Recent studies using structural equation modelling to examine the factor structure of the
MBI include Lee, and Ashforth’s (1990) comparative study of the three-factor model with
both one-factor and two-factor models, Evans, and Fischer’s (1993) comparative study of
teachers and computer company employees, Byrne’s (1991, 1993, 1994) factorial validity
studies of the three-factor model in samples of teachers, Yadama and Drake’s (1995) study
of child protection service workers, Schaufeli, and van Dierendonck’s (1993) study of
Dutch nurses, Schaufeli, Daamen, and van Mierlo’s (1994) study of Dutch secondary school
teachers, and Gold, Roth, Wright, Michael, and Chen’s (1992) study of elementary and
secondary school teachers. However, each of these SEM validation studies has suŠ ered from
one or more of the following methodological limitations : (1) allowing correlated error
terms in the tested model; (2) allowing items to load on multiple factors in the tested
model; (3) unacceptable levels for goodness-of- t tests ; (4) using summative measures in
the SEM analysis; and (5) failing to cross-validate the tested model across two or more
samples.
Lee, and Ashforth (1990, p. 744) assumed that ‘ analysis of all 22 items [of the original
Factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory 37

MBI] would likely have resulted in a poor  t ’ with their data from a sample of supervisors
and managers in a human service organization. However, instead of testing this  t, they
used the procedure suggested by Brooke, Russell, and Price (1988) to construct summative
measures of the three MBI factors. The nine emotional exhaustion items,  ve
depersonalization items, and eight personal accomplishment items were each combined
into three summative scales. The problem with using summative measures in SEM is that
it obscures critical information about the performance of individual items. In a standard
SEM factor model, validity and reliability coe‰ cients are calculated for each item. Also, the
unidimensionality of the scale items can be tested when they are entered individually in an
SEM model. This information is lost if the items are summed and treated as a scale. Lee, and
Ashforth (1990) found support for the three-factor structure, with a high positive
correlation between exhaustion and depersonalization and a negative correlation between
these factors and personal accomplishment.
Evans, and Fischer (1993) used the same procedure suggested by Brooke et al. (1988) to
construct summative measures of the MBI factors in their validation study. They obtained
a well  tting three-factor model in the sample of teachers, but could not cross-validate the
tested model in a second sample of computer company employees. They found that
‘ depersonalization indicators did not form a coherent or meaningful factor for the sample
of computer company employees’ (Brooke et al., 1988, p. 35).
Byrne’s (1991) sample of 543 intermediate school, secondary school and university
teachers also failed to support the original 22-item, three-factor model. Using the
modi cation indices in LISREL, Byrne explored respeci cations of the original model. The
acceptable  t for the three-factor model reported for teachers at the intermediate and
secondary levels was obtained by deleting three of the emotional exhaustion items (items
2, 16 and 20) and one personal accomplishment item (item 12), and by allowing correlated
error terms between items 10 and 11. Correlated error terms in measurement models derive
from item-speci cation problems such as response sets, acquiescence, social desirability and
overlapping item content. With respect to the MBI, the problem appears to stem from
content overlap. Several of the questions are the same, asked in a slightly diŠ erent way.
Such redundancy compromises the breadth of the construct. Byrne (1991, p. 593) admitted
as much when she suggested that ‘ Items 6, 11, 12, 16 and 20 may not be psychometrically
sound’. Subsequent factorial validity investigations by Byrne (1993, 1994) have not
resolved several problems such as : (1) the non-equivalence of certain items across tested
samples (e.g. items 15, 17 and 18) ; (2) the need to delete}modify certain items to make the
scale valid (e.g. items 12 and 16) ; (3) item cross-loadings across factors (e.g. personal
accomplishment item 12 cross-loading signi cantly onto the emotional exhaustion factor,
and depersonalization item 11 cross-loading on emotional exhaustion); and (4) the presence
of correlated errors in these studies. Byrne (1994, p. 308) concluded that ‘ the cause of
massive error correlations associated with particular MBI items nevertheless remains a
conundrum that must be solved ’.
Yadama, and Drake’s (1995) sample of 176 child protection social workers also failed to
support the original three-factor model developed by Maslach, and Jackson (1981).
Following a process similar to that of Byrne (1991), Yadama, and Drake (1995) explored
respeci cations of the original model. An acceptable  t was found by dropping four items
(2, 4, 16 and 21) and by allowing correlated error terms between items 5 and 15, and
between items 17 and 19. Although Yadama, and Drake’s model (1995) maintains the
original three-factor structure because of the speci cation error implied by the presence of
correlated error terms it is not clear that this is the best model (Rubio, and Gillespie, 1995).
They did not explore other more parsimonious models or possible causal relations among
38 T. J. Kalliath et al.

the MBI components. Their failure to explore more parsimonious models is problematic
because  ve of the six items re‚ ecting the personal accomplishment component, three of
the  ve items re‚ ecting depersonalization, and two of the seven items re‚ ecting emotional
exhaustion showed unacceptably low reliabilities. Only seven of the 18 items exhibited
squared multiple correlations above .40.
Schaufeli, and van Dierendonck (1993) investigated the construct validity of the MBI in
a sample of 667 nurses. Although they claim support for the original three-factor model,
their three-factor model contained speci cation error. They state that ‘ four of the MBI
items (i.e. items 12, 13, 16 and 18) are more complex since they load on two factors instead
of one’ (Schaufeli, and van Dierendonck, 1993, p. 642). When the tested model contains
items that load on multiple factors, it compromises the integrity of the tested model
(Bollen, 1989). The  nding that four items loaded on two latent variables suggests a lack of
unidimensionality in the original latent variable hypothesized by Maslach. Schaufeli, and
van Dierendonck (1993, p. 642) recommended that items 12 and 16 be removed from the
MBI and that future research should address the problems contained in MBI items 13 and
18 by comparing samples from diŠ erent occupations. In a subsequent validation study
involving 326 Dutch secondary school teachers, Schaufeli et al. (1994) reported obtaining
a three-factor model that  tted their data well. However, they did not cross-validate this
model in a second sample.
Gold et al. (1992) reported support for a three-factor model in a study of 133 elementary
and secondary school teachers. However, this study had two serious shortcomings: (1) the
goodness-of- t (GFI) statistics reported in the study do not meet acceptable standards for
model  t (for example the GFI and the adjusted goodness-of- t (AGFI) reported are .79 and
.75, respectively, whereas values of .90 or more are required for model  t, see Bentler,
1992); and (2) no cross-validation was performed.
In sum, the  ndings of several recent studies that used structural equation modelling to
test the construct validity of the MBI have cast doubt on the validity of the three-factor, 22-
item model as it was originally hypothesized (Maslach, and Jackson, 1981, 1986).
Consequently, we believe that an SEM test of the MBI’s factor structure across three health
professional groups would strengthen the generalizability of the burnout construct across
occupational groups. Considering the results of these recent studies, it is evident that further
assessment of the psychometric properties of the MBI is necessary to clarify the construct
validity of each proposed burnout component, especially when exploring the relationship
of correlates of burnout across diŠ erent samples.

3. Correlates of the MBI

Cronbach, and Meehl (1955) suggested that the validity of a construct can be established by
examining the network of relationships between measures of the construct and measures of
other variables that form the construct’s nomological net. The burnout literature suggests that
burnout relates in predictable ways to a variety of work-related variables. We selected a set
of six correlates that have been shown to be consequences of burnout, of which four were
expected to have negative correlations, and two were expected to have positive correlations
with burnout dimensions. Following earlier studies (Burke, Shearer, and Deszca, 1984;
Jackson, and Maslach, 1982; Maslach, and Jackson, 1985; Kahill, 1988) we expected
emotional exhaustion and depersonalization to correlate negatively with job satisfaction
and satisfaction with supervisor and co-workers. Employees who experience emotional
exhaustion and depersonalization on the job are likely to  nd it di‰ cult to be satis ed with
their jobs. We also expected that emotional exhaustion and depersonalization would have
Factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory 39

negative correlations with organizational commitment because previous research found

that burnout leads to reduced organizational commitment (Jackson, Turner, and Brief,
1987; Leiter, and Maslach, 1988). We expected positive correlations between burnout
dimensions and intention to leave, because as employees experience higher levels of
burnout they may entertain intentions to leave their jobs (Burke, and Deszca, 1986; Burke
et al., 1984; Jackson, and Maslach, 1982; Maslach, and Jackson, 1985). As a consequence,
they are likely to increase their job search activity with higher levels of experienced burnout
and intentions to leave their jobs (Hom, and GriŠ eth, 1991). To summarize, we expected
(1) negative correlations between burnout and job satisfaction, satisfaction with supervisor
and co-workers, and organizational commitment; and (2) positive correlations between
burnout and intention to leave and job search behaviour.
The purpose of the present study was two-fold. Our  rst aim was to test the factor
structure of the MBI using structural equation modelling in three samples of human service
professionals with varying degrees of involvement in ‘ people work’ (Maslach, and Jackson,
1981, p. 1). Initially a measurement model for the MBI was developed for a sample of
nurses (calibration model) and then a test of invariance of the model was conducted across
two validation samples consisting of hospital laboratory technicians and managers
(Anderson, and Gerbing, 1988). Second, the new and original MBI models (i.e. emotional
exhaustion and depersonalization) were used to determine relationships with some
predicted correlates of burnout.

4. Method
4.1. Data
Data were collected from 263 nurses, 199 laboratory technicians, and 223 managers
employed by a general community hospital located in a large city in the Midwestern
United States. To prepare the data for the con rmatory factor analyses, we screened the
sample for outliers (de ned as cases that had values greater than plus or minus three standard
residuals when we regressed all of the MBI items on each other and several demographic
characteristics and correlate scale items) and eliminated them from the sample, a procedure
described in more detail by Tukey (1977). Outliers were eliminated listwise to yield a
complete data set (values on every variable for every case) because pairwise deletion tends
to yield unstable parameters. With listwise deletion, all computations are based on the same
cases which helps to ensure that the data matrix is non-negative-de nite (Jo$ reskog, and
So$ rbom, 1993). We also eliminated all cases with missing values. These actions resulted in
the following sample sizes for the con rmatory factor analyses: 197 nurses, 113 hospital
laboratory technicians, and 135 hospital managers. In these reduced samples the mean ages
of respondents were 38.9 years for the nurses, 35.9 years for the laboratory technicians, and
40 years for the managers; the mean organizational tenure was 14.7 years for the nurses, 18
years for the laboratory technicians and 15.4 years for the managers; about 75 % of the
nurses, technicians and managers had been in their current positions for more than 3 years;
and women comprised 94 % of the nurses, 60 % of the technicians, and 72 % of the
managers. Respondents completed a questionnaire during normal work hours in a quiet
room on the hospital premises. Participation in the study was voluntary, and con dentiality
was assured.

4.2. Instrumentation
The Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach, and Jackson, 1986) consists of 22 items.
Emotional exhaustion was measured by nine items, depersonalization by  ve items, and
40 T. J. Kalliath et al.

personal accomplishment by eight items. All items have a 7-point response scale ranging
from 0 ¯ ‘ never experienced such a feeling ’ to 6 ¯ ‘ experienced such feelings every day’.
Overall job satisfaction was assessed with a 4-item scale. Items were taken from the Michigan
Organizational Assessment Questionnaire (Cammann, Fichman, Jenkins, and Klesh, 1983)
and the Overall Job Satisfaction Instrument (Quinn, and Staines, 1979). In addition to
overall job satisfaction, two important satisfaction dimensions were measured: satisfaction
with supervisor and satisfaction with co-workers. Satisfaction with supervisor was assessed
with a 6-item Likert-scale version of the Index of Organizational Reactions Satisfaction-
with-Supervisor Scale (Smith, 1976); and satisfaction with co-workers was assessed with a 5-
item Likert-scale version of the Index of Organizational Reactions Satisfaction-with-Co-
workers Scale (Smith, 1976). Organizational commitment was measured with the 15-item
Organizational Commitment Scale developed by Mowday, Steers, and Porter (1979).
Turnover intentions were measured with the 8-item Staying or Leaving Index (Bluedorn,
1982). Finally, job search activity was measured with the Job Search Behavior Index
(Kopelman, Rovenpor, and Millsap, 1992), a 10-item dichotomous scale measuring job
search behaviour.

4.3. Analysis
Structural equation modelling techniques allow us to specify the number of dimensions
(factors) in a model, as well as the items expected to load on each dimension. The paths from
one latent variable to the indicators of another are constrained to equal zero (Bollen, 1989).
These hypothesized relationships are tested empirically for goodness of  t with the sample
data. The v # mis t statistic and several other goodness-of- t indices summarize the degree
of correspondence between the implied and observed covariance matrices, which is a
distinct advantage of the SEM method over other methods that have assessed the adequacy
of the MBI’s factor structure. Although the appropriateness of a common-factor model and
even the number of factors comprising it can never be assessed de nitively (Kim, and
Mueller, 1978), structural equation modelling techniques can increase our con dence that
the model is consistent with the true population parameters.
The factor structure of the MBI was tested through con rmatory factor analysis using
LISREL 8.12 ( Jo$ reskog, and So$ rbom, 1993). Maximum likelihood estimation was used in
all con rmatory factor analyses. The adequacy of the internal structure of the model was
evaluated by testing the signi cance of the parameters and by estimating the reliabilities of
the factors and the average variances extracted from the factors—the squared multiple
correlations for each item (Jo$ reskog, and So$ rbom, 1993)—which provide a direct index of
item performance for each factor. An approximation to the a reliability coe‰ cient
(Cronbach, 1951) is obtained by taking the square root of the squared multiple correlation;
a squared multiple correlation of .49 corresponds to an a value of about .70.
The full model consisting of all 22 items was tested initially in the sample of nurses. As
this analysis demonstrated a lack of  t to the data for the original model, we examined the
squared multiple correlations (R#) to identify weak items (those with R# less than .49). The
item with the lowest R# was eliminated from the analysis, and the respeci ed measurement
model was again assessed for  t. If the model still did not  t the data well, the elimination
procedure was repeated and the respeci ed model was assessed again ( Jo$ reskog, 1993). This
exploratory process continued until a measurement model was obtained that  tted the data
well for the sample of nurses. The  nal model that emerged in the nurses’ sample was used
to conduct a test of model invariance across one calibration sample of nurses and two
validation samples consisting of hospital laboratory technicians and hospital managers. The
Factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory 41

invariance test assessed the stability of factor structure and the pattern of factor loadings
(Anderson, and Gerbing, 1988). Then we computed the correlations between the model’s
two dimensions (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) and job satisfaction,
supervisor satisfaction, co-worker satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover
intentions, and job search behaviour to see if the expected pattern of negative and positive
correlations would occur. We also compared these correlations with the correlations
obtained for the original emotional exhaustion and depersonalization factors.

5. Results
Table 1 presents  t statistics for the test of the original model (22 items). The v # statistic
provides a measure of the discrepancy between the sample covariance matrix and the  tted
covariance matrix. The statistically signi cant v # value of 571.20 (df ¯ 206; p ! .00) in the
sample of nurses revealed a poor overall  t of the originally hypothesized MBI model.
Jo$ reskog, and So$ rbom (1993, p. 124) pointed out that the use of v # is based on the
assumption that the model holds exactly in the population, which is a stringent assumption.
A consequence of this assumption is that models that hold approximately in the population
will be rejected in a large sample. To overcome the problem of sample size, Browne, and
Cudek (1993) suggested using the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA)
and the 90 % con dence interval of the RMSEA. The RMSEA estimates the overall amount
of error ; it is a function of the  tting function value relative to the degrees of freedom. The
RMSEA point estimate should be .05 or less and the upper limit of the con dence interval
should not exceed .08. Table 1 shows that for the original model, the RMSEA of .10 is
above the prescribed limits and indicates a poor  t to the data. We used two other  t
statistics to assess model  t. The Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) indicates the relative amount
of the variances}co-variances in the sample predicted by the estimates of the population. It
usually varies between 0 and 1 and a result of .90 or above indicates good model  t. In the
present test GFI was .78, indicative of poor  t. The Comparative Fit Index (CFI) indicates
how much better the model  ts as compared to a model of independence (the null model).
CFI indicates the proportionate decrease in v # from the null model to the theoretical model.
Results of .90 or above are indicative of a good model  t. In the present test CFI was .82,
suggestive of poor  t.
The failure to con rm the hypothesized 22-item, three-factor structure is consistent with
the results of several recent studies cited earlier (Byrne, 1991; Lee, and Ashforth, 1990;

Table 1. Fit statistics for the two-factor MBI measurement model across three samples.
CI for
Tested models v # p df RMSEA RMSEA GFI CFI
Full model (22 items) for nurses 571± 19 ! ± 01 206 ± 10 NA ± 78 ± 82
(N ¯ 197)
Respeci ed model for nurses 13± 26 ± 43 13 ± 01 (0 ; ± 07) ± 98 1± 00
(N ¯ 197)
Test of invariance 80± 25 ± 17 69 ± 02 (0 ; ± 04) ± 96 ± 99
(N ¯ 445)

RMSEA ¯ root mean-square error of approximation; CI for RMSEA ¯ con dence interval for
RMSEA; GFI ¯ goodness-of- t index ; CFI ¯ comparative  t index ; NA ¯ not available as a
LISREL output.
42 T. J. Kalliath et al.

Schaufeli, and van Dierendonck, 1993; Yadama, and Drake, 1995). When the initial model
fails to  t the data well, the focus shifts from model testing to model development.
Alternative models are assessed using the same data ( Jo$ reskog, 1993). We examined the
squared multiple correlations (R#) to locate weak items, as the R# provides a direct index of
item performance for each factor; R# indicates the amount of variance in the observed
variable explained by the latent variable. We eliminated the weakest item, and ran the
respeci ed model, but this process did not result in a good  t to the data. We then ran a
series of respeci ed models eliminating other weak items successively (those items with an
R# of less than .49). It became apparent during this phase of the analysis that many of the
items presumed to re‚ ect personal accomplishment had extremely weak item reliabilities ;
only two met our criterion and these two had R# values in the low .40s. An adequate
measurement model should have R# values above .49 (Bollen, 1989). The performance of
the personal accomplishment items clearly compromised the overall  t of the measurement
model, hence this dimension was eliminated from further analysis, and we proceeded to test
a two-factor model composed of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.
At the end of the exploratory analyses, a two-factor measurement model was obtained
that  tted the data well for the sample of nurses. Emotional exhaustion was measured by
 ve items and depersonalization was measured by two items. The  t statistics are presented
in table 1. The v # of 13.26 ( p ¯ .43, df ¯ 13) indicates a good  t to the nurses’ data for the
respeci ed model, and the RMSEA  gure of .01 and the con dence interval for the
RMSEA (.0 ; .07) also indicated excellent  t of the measurement model to the data.
Similarly, other  t indicators such as GFI (.98) and CFI (1.00) indicated good  t for the
proposed theoretical model with the data for nurses.
Anderson, and Gerbing (1988) pointed out that after an acceptable  t has been achieved
with a series of respeci cations in the development sample (i.e. calibration sample), the next
step is to conduct a test of model invariance (or cross-validation) across one or more
validation samples. Anderson, and Gerbing (1988, p. 412) state the need

to cross-validate the  nal model on another sample drawn from the population to which the
results are to be generalized. This cross-validation would be accomplished by specifying the same
model with freely estimated parameters or, in what represents the quintessential con rmatory
analysis, the same model with parameter estimates constrained to the previously estimated values.

In the present analyses, we followed the approach advocated by Anderson, and Gerbing
(1988).
Table 1 provides the results of the test of model invariance of the model across three
samples: nurses, laboratory technicians and managers (N ¯ 445). The statistically non-
signi cant v # value of 80.25 (df ¯ 69 ; p ! .17) indicates good  t for the model. The
RMSEA  gure of .02 and the con dence interval for RMSEA (0 ; .04) also indicate excellent
 t for the model with the data, as do other  t statistics, the GFI (.96) and CFI (.99).
Table 2 displays the item squared multiple correlations (R#) of  ve items that measure
emotional exhaustion and of the two items that measure depersonalization, values of .51 to
.90 illustrate that a substantial portion of the variability in each indicator was accounted for
by the corresponding factor. Table 3 presents the internal consistency index scores (a
coe‰ cients) of the 5-item emotional exhaustion scale and of the 2-item depersonalization
scale, which were both above the traditional standards for basic research (Nunnally, 1987).
Speci cally, for the emotional exhaustion scale the a coe‰ cients were .83 in the nurses’
sample, .85 for the sample of laboratory technicians and .84 for the managers; for the
depersonalization scale, they were .90 for the nurses, .84 for the laboratory technicians and
.84 for the managers. Not only do these a coe‰ cients exceed customary internal
 Table 2. Descriptive statistics and squared multiple correlations (R#).
Nurses Technicians Managers

Item number Item description R# Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD

Emotional exhaustion
Item 1 I feel emotionally drained from my work 0 ± 51 3± 05 1 ± 47 2± 87 1 ± 69 3± 45 1± 59
Item 3 I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to 0 ± 56 2± 75 1 ± 62 2± 58 1 ± 81 2± 75 1± 70
face another day on the job 3± 12 1± 67
Item 13 I feel frustrated by my job 0 ± 63 2± 75 1 ± 56 2± 58 1 ± 78 3± 21 1± 80
Factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory

Item 14 I feel I’m working too hard on my job 0 ± 53 2± 58 1 ± 60 2± 70 1 ± 79 1± 61 1± 59

Item 20 I feel like I’m at the end of my rope 0 ± 52 1± 14 1 ± 27 1± 16 1 ± 46 2± 83 1± 67
Total scale 2± 46 1 ± 50 2± 38 1 ± 71
Depersonalization
Item 10 I’ve become more callous towards people since I took this job 0 ± 72 1± 61 1 ± 67 1± 57 1 ± 73 1± 43 1± 64
Item 11 I worry that this job is hardening me emotionally 0 ± 90 1± 48 1 ± 61 1± 55 1 ± 89 1± 29 1± 76
Total scale 1± 55 1 ± 64 1± 56 1 ± 81 1± 36 1± 70
Item numbers correspond to items reported in Maslach, and Jackson (1986). The squared multiple correlation (R#) is a direct index of item performance for each
factor, an approximation to the a coe‰ cient is attained by taking the square root of R#. An R# of ± 49 corresponds to an a coe‰ cient of ± 70.
43
 Table 3. Two-dimensional burnout measures: relationship with full scale measures and correlates. 44
Nurses Technicians Managers

EE Depersonalization EE Depersonalization EE Depersonalization

Cronbach’s Cronbach’s Cronbach’s
Variables 5-item 9-item 2-item 5-item a 5-item 9-item 2-item 5-item a 5-item 9-item 2-item 5-item a

Burnout dimensions
1. Emotional ± 97*** ± 50*** ± 51*** ± 83 ± 97*** ± 53*** ± 55*** ± 85 ± 97*** ± 50*** ± 50*** ± 84
exhaustion
(5-item)
2. Emotional ± 52*** ± 55*** ± 90 ± 58*** ± 61*** ± 84 ± 56*** ± 58*** ± 84
exhaustion
(9-item)
3. Depersonalization ± 88*** ± 89 ± 88*** ± 90 ± 88*** ± 88
(2-item)
4. Depersonalization ± 76 ± 75 ± 71
(5-item)
Correlates
1. Overall job ® ± 55*** ® ± 55*** ® ± 44*** ® ± 55*** ± 82 ® ± 60*** ® ± 63*** ® ± 49*** ® ± 49*** ± 77 ® ± 48*** ® ± 47*** ® ± 36*** ® ± 30*** ± 85
satisfaction
2. Supervisory ® ± 27*** ® ± 27*** ® ± 30*** ® ± 29*** ± 92 ® ± 39*** ® ± 40*** ® ± 36*** ® ± 37** ± 86 ® ± 30*** ® ± 30*** ® ± 23*** ® ± 16* ± 89
satisfaction
3. Co-worker ® ± 34*** ® ± 32*** ® ± 37*** ® ± 29*** ± 71 ® ± 29*** ® ± 31*** ® ± 34*** ® ± 36*** ± 72 ® ± 25*** ® ± 28*** ® ± 22** ® ± 27*** ± 65
satisfaction
4. Organizational ® ± 38*** ® ± 40*** ® ± 44*** ® ± 38*** ± 91 ® ± 46*** ® ± 48*** ® ± 43*** ® ± 47*** ± 91 ® ± 46*** ® ± 43*** ® ± 24** ® ± 23*** ± 89
commitment
5. Turnover ± 23*** ± 24*** ± 22*** ± 27*** ± 94 ± 30*** ± 29*** ± 37*** ± 33*** ± 94 ± 23*** ± 24*** ± 14* ± 12 ± 91
intentions
6. Job search ± 19** ± 17** ± 16* ± 16* ± 80 ± 32*** ± 31*** ± 22*** ± 29*** ± 81 ± 34*** ± 30*** ± 08 ± 09 ± 84

Sample sizes (N) used for computing correlations and reliability estimates ranged from 250 to 262 for nurses, 176 to 194 for the laboratory technicians, and 200 to
223 for the managers. The larger sample sizes used for computing correlations between burnout subscales and correlates yielded more stable correlation estimates,
as well as reliability estimates. Signi cance tests were two-tailed tests.
* p ! ± 05, ** p ! ± 01; *** p ! ± 001.
T. J. Kalliath et al.

EE ¯ Emotional Exhaustion.
Factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory 45

Figure 1. Testing equality of factor structures across three samples: the  nal model. The numbers
shown in the diagram from left to right are standardized: (1) error terms ; (2) validity (path)
coe‰ cients of indicators, all of which are signi cant at the .01 level; and (3) correlations between
latent constructs Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization are signi cant at the .01 level in three
samples. Item numbers correspond to items reported in Maslach, and Jackson (1986).

consistency standards, but they are also comparable to the a coe‰ cients reported in the
literature for the longer original scales used to measure these dimensions (Maslach, and
Jackson, 1986).
Figure 1 presents the parameter estimates for the  nal model that was tested for equality
of factor structures across the three samples. In testing for invariance, using LISREL, the
factor loadings, factor correlations and error variances were invariant across all three
groups, as shown in  gure 1. The path coe‰ cients (shown on the arrows from the latent
constructs to the indicators) range from .72 to .95, and all are statistically signi cant at the
.01 level. The path coe‰ cients represent the direct structural relationships between each
latent variable and its measures. These path coe‰ cients are approximately twice the size of
the error variances, which are shown next to the short arrows. Moreover, we found no
statistically signi cant correlations between error terms in any of the models, which (as
noted earlier) is important substantively. Although speci cation error cannot be ruled out
entirely, it is less likely to occur if error terms do not correlate. The correlation between the
latent constructs emotional exhaustion and depersonalization was .64, which is comparable
to that reported in the literature (Lee, and Ashforth, 1990; Schaufeli, and van Dierendonck,
1993). The results presented in  gure 1 indicate a measurement model that speci es two
dimensions of the burnout construct that  t data across three samples.

5.1. Burnout correlates

Table 3 shows that correlations ranged from .88 to.97 between the reduced-form versions
of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scales derived in this study and the full
46 T. J. Kalliath et al.

original versions of the scales. The magnitude and signi cance of these correlations suggests
that our reduced-form measures are adequately tapping these two dimensions of burnout.
Table 3 also shows that signi cant correlations of emotional exhaustion and
depersonalization with predicted correlates of burnout were all in the predicted direction.
Statistically signi cant positive correlations were obtained with turnover intentions and job
search, while statistically signi cant negative correlations were obtained with overall job
satisfaction, satisfaction with supervisor, satisfaction with co-workers, and organizational
commitment. The magnitude of these correlations for the shorter version and the full
version of the scales was similar.

6. Discussion
The purpose of the present study was to examine the factor structure of the Maslach
Burnout Inventory using the structural equation modelling approach. Previous studies that
have used the SEM approach have suŠ ered from certain methodologicallimitations (Byrne,
1991, 1993, 1994; Lee, and Ashforth, 1990; Schaufeli, and van Dierendonck, 1993;
Yadama, and Drake, 1995). We believe that the present study overcomes some of these
limitations, provides an assessment of the psychometric properties of the MBI, and clari es
the construct validity of each burnout factor.
The results obtained using SEM supported a two-factor conceptualization of burnout
consisting of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, showing emotional exhaustion
to be the stronger of the two factors. Support for this conclusion was obtained from the
statistically non-signi cant v # values obtained for the test of invariance across three samples.
The goodness-of- t indices were in the range that indicated good  t for the proposed two-
factor model with the data in the three samples (table 1). In addition, we obtained a highly
consistent pattern of correlations between the two burnout factors (emotional exhaustion
and depersonalization) and six diŠ erent variables. Two of the six variables (turnover
intentions and job search) were unfavourably orientated towards the hospital that provided
the samples and, as expected, both these variables were positively correlated with emotional
exhaustion and depersonalization, and only marginal diŠ erences in the magnitude of the
correlations were observed between the two versions. Four variables (overall job
satisfaction, supervisory satisfaction, co-worker satisfaction and organizational com-
mitment) re‚ ected favourable orientations towards the hospital that provided the three
samples and, again as expected, all four variables were negatively correlated with emotional
exhaustion and depersonalization (table 3). Again, only marginal diŠ erence in magnitude
of correlations were observed between the two versions of the MBI.
An important  nding of this study was the poor performance of the personal
accomplishment factor. This  nding conforms with recent studies that report results similar
to ours (Byrne, 1991; Koeske, and Koeske, 1993; Yadama, and Drake, 1995). In addition,
a recent meta-analysis of the burnout literature (Cordes, and Dougherty, 1993) indicates
that while emotional exhaustion and depersonalization are clearly interrelated, personal
accomplishment may be a separate variable that develops in parallel with emotional
exhaustion (see also Lee, and Ashforth, 1993; Leiter, 1993).
Another  nding of the present study is that emotional exhaustion is the most robust of
the three original factors of the MBI. As mentioned above, the personal accomplishment
factor performed poorly in our SEM test. The present  ndings are consistent with criticisms
of the three-component model of burnout, in that we identi ed emotional exhaustion as
the core element of burnout, and depersonalisation as perhaps a subsidiary dimension. In
keeping with the arguments raised by Leiter (1991, 1993) and supported in research by Lee
Factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory 47

and Ashforth (1993), reduced personal accomplishment did not feature in our research as a
major dimension of burnout.
Furthermore, depersonalization was measured by only two items, which is too few, as
the measurement model estimated by itself is underidenti ed. These results are consistent
with the  ndings of Koeske, and Koeske (1993), who argued that emotional exhaustion
represents the essence of burnout, and with the work of other researchers who have also
argued for the primacy of emotional exhaustion (Lee, and Ashforth, 1993, 1996; Reilly,
1994).
It might be argued that even though correlations between the original measures of
emotional exhaustion and depersonalization with the reduced form measures were
extremely high, the reduced form measures do not fully represent the original construct of
burnout. Although this argument has some apparent face validity, Bollen, and Lennox
(1991) show that it applies only to cause-indicator models and not to eŠ ect-indicator models
such as the MBI. With eŠ ect-indicator models, the factor loadings and item reliabilities
count more than the number of items, which are considered to be interchangeable. The
more important question, however, is : does the reduced form measure perform as well as
or better than the original measure? Our results, together with those of several other recent
studies, suggest that a number of the original MBI items are ‚ awed. The MBI was
developed as a summative measure before the widespread use of structural equation
modelling techniques, and summative measures obscure the performance of individual
items. Reliability is a function of the number of items and the magnitude of correlations
among those items. Traditionally, a relatively large number of items with low to moderate
correlations were used to construct summative measures (Nunnally, 1987). The greater
precision and power available with structural equation modelling shifts the emphasis from
increasing the number of items to increasing the magnitude of correlations among a few
precisely worded items. Admittedly, while there is a trade-oŠ here between the criteria of
precision and parsimony, the goal is the greatest precision with the fewest possible items.
In this sense, the 5-item reduced-form measure of emotional exhaustion is preferred over
the 9-item original measure. On the other hand, the 2-item measure of depersonalization
is too short because the measurement model estimated by itself is underidenti ed.
However, the use of two valid and reliable items alone is preferred to mixing them with
invalid and unreliable items. It may be noted here that our research was based on the
original model, recent revisions of the model may have addressed some of the criticisms of
the earlier model (Maslach et al., 1996; Schutte et al., 2000).
The present study had several limitations. First, all three samples were taken from the
same hospital setting. Although this strengthens the comparative aspect of the design by
ruling out organizational goals, structure, and other potential confounds, it also restricts the
generalizability of the results. Second, data from the three samples were gathered at the
same time, which limits the ability to test causal assumptions regarding the burnout
syndrome. Third, the measure of depersonalization is by itself underidenti ed, which
constrains its general use in other studies.
To conclude, we found support for a two-dimensional factor structure of the burnout
construct in three samples of healthcare professionals, with emotional exhaustion emerging
as the more robust factor in burnout. The resulting two-factor model showed internal
consistencies comparable to those reported in the literature and correlations with criterion
variables in the expected directions. The measurement model re ned in the present study
has been used elsewhere for the investigation of structural relationships between burnout
and other variables (Kalliath, O’Driscoll, and Gillespie, 1998). However, further
development of a generalizable measure of depersonalization is needed, such development
48 T. J. Kalliath et al.

being the logical next step in burnout research. Recent revisions of the model (Maslach
et al., 1996; Schutte et al., 2000) may have addressed some of the criticisms of the earlier
model.

Acknowledgements
Awards of an Academic Research Visitor grant to the  rst author from the School of
Social Sciences at the University of Waikato and multiple Summer Research Fellowships
from the College of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri-
Columbia to the fourth author supported this research.

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Submitted February 1999.

Revised version accepted February 2000.