The relationship between burnout and attachment styles of nurses who work in Lebanese hospitals

Abstract

Burnout is a concerning occupational phenomenon rising between nurses worldwide. In Lebanon however, this population has been critically struggling for more than three years as a result of the global health crisis of Covid-19 virus pandemic as well as the local financial, economic, and security collapse. However, international studies have proved that different workers develop different burnout levels due to multiple occupational factors and personal characteristics. Having a secure attachment has been evidenced in various research to be a protective factor from developing burnout. Therefore, this study aimed to explore any possible correlation between attachment styles and burnout levels of registered nurses who work in Lebanese hospitals. An online invitation letter composed of an informed consent and a survey was sent to all possible participants using the snowballing technique, and eventually the study ended with (N=80) participants aged between 21 and 56 years. The eligible participants were asked to enter their age and gender, and fill two self-administered tests which assessed burnout and attachment style respectively: MBI-HSS and RAAS. The results showed that the distribution of attachment styles did not significantly differ between male and female participants, burnout levels did not significantly vary between different age groups, males are at a significant greater risk to develop high burnout compared to female nurses, and burnout levels did not significantly differ between the four attachment groups of nurses who work in Lebanese hospitals.