Self-care, stress, and well-being among practicing psychologists.

Abstract

Increasing attention has been given to the importance of self-care for preventing the negative consequences of stress and promoting well-being. A small body of research has suggested that psychologists view self-care as important and that self-care behaviors are linked to professional and personal outcomes. The purpose of the current research was to provide a more detailed examination of how self-care functions to reduce risk for burnout and increase life satisfaction among practicing psychologists. Using archival data from a survey of 422 psychologists, the present research examined 5 areas of self-care: professional support, professional development, life balance, cognitive awareness, and daily balance. Results suggested that a key mechanism through which self-care may impact well-being is by reducing stress; higher scores on all 5 areas of self-care predicted lower stress, which then predicted less burnout and greater life satisfaction. Results provided weaker support for the role of self-care as a buffer protecting against the negative effects of stress on well-being. These findings suggest that self-care is most effective when practiced proactively, as a preemptive measure aimed at reducing stress and thereby avoiding the progression to negative outcomes such as burnout and enhancing good outcomes such as life satisfaction. Further, analyses comparing the relative contribution of different types of self-care to well-being outcomes suggest that life balance, cognitive awareness, and daily balance are particularly important to psychologists' personal and professional functioning. Public Significance StatementThis study on self-care among practicing psychologists suggests that self-care may decrease risk for burnout and promote personal and professional well-being by reducing stress. Findings indicate the value of engaging in ongoing, preventive self-care.

The Mediating Effect of Childcare Teachers’ Resilience on the Relationship between Social Support in the Workplace and Their Self-Care

“…In addition, considering that the survey was conducted in Korea, which has had a strong culture of collectivism for a long time [ 89 , 90 ], childcare teachers may feel an even greater difficulty expressing their own distress and seeking personal rest outside work. It should be noted that people are likely to experience distress, burnout, and further impaired professional competence when personal and professional demands and activities are not balanced well in one’s life [ 2 , 4 ]. Thus, education programs focused on self-care for childcare teachers need to be developed, while materials should include content informing childcare teachers that self-care is a crucial part of their professional identities [ 91 , 92 ] and that accepting ongoing self-care behavior is included in the ethics of teachers to provide optimal and effective caregiving to young children.…”

“…Second, the measure for self-care used in this study was not the one developed specifically for childcare teachers. Generating and developing a scale for childcare teachers would give greater insight since self-care encompasses various domains of life [ 4 ]. Hence, a scale for childcare teachers, such as the one developed for psychologists [ 96 ], may allow more accurate assessment and capture detailed information, especially in the self-care behaviors related to professional life.…”

“…It builds one’s holistic health and wellbeing, thus contributing to taking care of others [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Self-care is necessary for a caregiver to provide better care to others and self-care behavior is known to be related to professional, as well as personal, success [ 4 ]. Failure of self-care by professionals in caregiving jobs may result in them putting themselves or their clients in danger [ 2 ].…”

“…Failure of self-care by professionals in caregiving jobs may result in them putting themselves or their clients in danger [ 2 ]. Promoting self-care can help caregivers cope with work-related stress and enable them to achieve both professional development and success, not to mention, personal wellbeing [ 4 ]. Self-care both prevents and protects against negative outcomes in the personal and professional domains, which helps to lessen the costs of healthcare from a societal perspective.…”

“…Professionals in this field must make caring for and nourishing themselves a priority in order to function effectively and provide optimal care for clients [ 8 , 9 ]. Studies in mental and physical health care services focusing on counselors and therapists [ 2 , 4 , 10 , 11 ], as well as on nurses [ 12 , 13 ], have already noticed the importance of self-care, although little attention has been paid to childcare teachers who also provide primary care for young children and have a critical role in child development.…”