The high risk of burnout in the social work profession is well established, but little is known about burnout's impact on the physical health of social workers. This article examines the relationship between burnout and physical health, using data from a longitudinal study of social workers. California-registered social workers (N = 406) were surveyed annually over a three-year period. Using structural equation modeling, the authors conducted a path analysis to test whether burnout predicted changes in physical health over time.The results showed that social workers with higher initial levels of burnout later reported more physical health complaints. Moreover, higher levels of burnout led to a faster rate of deterioration in physical health over a one-year period.The potential implications for policy and social service organizations are discussed.

Child abuse and neglect, often collectively called child maltreatment, are huge social problems affecting millions of children and adolescents in America. Adolescents are affected both by maltreatment which occurred during childhood with lingering effects and by maltreatment that continues into or begins in adolescence. Several decades of research indicate such maltreatment is associated with a number of mental health problems, including internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as other maladaptive developmental problems, in childhood and beyond. This is a review of research published from 2000 to 2010 with a specific focus on the nature and impact of child maltreatment on adolescent development. This article focuses on 3 especially critical themes of this recent research: (1) prospective longitudinal studies that examine adolescent adaptation and maladaptation of individuals abused or neglected earlier in life; (2) research that focuses on some developmental outcomes with particular salience during adolescence such as delinquency and substance abuse, romantic relationships, and sexuality; and (3) research that examined psychobiological processes in maltreated adolescents, processes that might indicate the mechanisms underlying maladaptive development.

Objective: The study examined the factorial validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for social work research and practice. Method: Factor structure and longitudinal invariance of the MBI were tested using structural equation modeling techniques with a random sample of 475 state-registered social workers in California. Results: The original three-factor model was superior over other competing factor models. Investigation of the second-order factor model supported the presence of the common burnout factor and indicated depersonalization and emotional exhaustion were core components of burnout. Longitudinal factorial invariance was not achieved for personal accomplishment. Conclusion: The findings suggest the applicability of the MBI in a longitudinal research with careful inference regarding personal accomplishment and highlight the importance of depersonalization in social worker burnout.

This study examined exposure to peer delinquency as a mediator between pubertal timing and self-reported delinquency longitudinally and whether this mediational model was moderated by either gender or maltreatment experience. Data were obtained from Time 1, 2, and 3 of a longitudinal study of maltreatment and development. At Time 1 the sample comprised 454 children aged 9–13 years. Analyses via structural equation modeling supported full mediation. Gender did not moderate this mediational relationship, but maltreatment experience did. The results show that early maturing males and females are both at risk for being exposed to peers that may draw them into delinquent behavior. Additionally, the mechanism linking early pubertal timing to delinquency differs depending on maltreatment experience.