Measurement Invariance of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) Across Seven Cross-National Representative Samples

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the measurement invariance of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) across seven cross-national representative samples. In this study, burnout was modeled as a second-order factor in line with the conceptual definition as a syndrome. The combined sample consisted of 10,138 participants from countries in Europe and Japan. The data were treated as ordered categorical in nature and a series of models were tested to find evidence for invariance. Specifically, theta parameterization was used in conjunction with the weighted least squares (mean- and variance adjusted) estimation method. The results showed supportive evidence that BAT-assessed burnout was invariant across the samples, so that cross-country comparison would be justifiable. Comparison of effect sizes of the latent means between countries showed that Japan had a significantly higher score on overall burnout and all the first-order factors compared to the European countries. The European countries all scored similarly on overall burnout with no significant difference but for some minor differences in first-order factors between some of the European countries. All in all, the analyses of the data provided evidence that the BAT is invariant across the countries for meaningful comparisons of burnout scores.

Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT)—Development, Validity, and Reliability

“…Given the novelty of our study, this was a first step in validating the BAT. Although the results are promising and seem to be corroborated by three very recent studies [ 68 , 69 , 70 ], they are still preliminary. Additional, more elaborate testing should take place in the future in order to evaluate the validity of the BAT.…”

“…This study corroborated that a second-order factor model including only the core symptoms as well as a second-order factor model including the core symptoms plus the secondary symptoms fitted well to the data. Moreover, another recent study found that the former second-order factor model was invariant across seven cross-national representative samples from Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, and The Netherlands [ 69 ]. Finally, using Rasch analysis it was shown that the core symptom-dimensions of the BAT constitute a unidimensional scale [ 70 ].…”

“…In addition, convergent validity of the secondary symptoms should be more closely examined in future studies, for instance, by using other well-validated distress scales such as the General Health Questionnaire [ 74 ]. Last, but not least, the BAT was tested in a Flemish cultural context—it remains to be investigated how it behaves in other cultural settings, albeit that the first, preliminary cross-national results seem promising [ 69 ].…”

Perfectionism and Burnout During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Study

“…The most popular instrument to measure burnout comprehends these three dimensions and it is called the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). However, MBI has been criticized on conceptual, practical, and psychometrical grounds, and Schaufeli et al (2020) recently proposed a new conceptualization and measure of burnout, the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT, Schaufeli et al, 2020 ), showing its cross-sectional validity within seven nationally representative samples ( de Beer et al, 2020 ). The BAT conceptualizes burnout as a syndrome comprising four components—(1) exhaustion, (2) emotional impairment, (3) cognitive impairment, and (4) mental distance—following the distinction made by Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) , which considered these dimensions as burnout’s core symptoms with respect to other secondary, atypical ones.…”

A Rasch analysis of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT)

“…Moreover, it needs to be tested whether the BAT can be used to obtain a single burnout score, which is impossible with the MBI. In a recently published paper, the measurement invariance of the BAT across seven cross-national representative samples was investigated, and the BAT was successfully modelled as a second-order factor with a good fit to the data [ 22 ]. The current paper focuses on an evaluation of the internal construct validity of the BAT using Rasch analysis.…”