An investigation of the mediator role of hope in relationship between self-compassion and burnout in school counselors

The aim of this research is twofold. The first is to examine the burnout levels of school counselors in terms of various variables, and the second is to question the mediating role of hope in the relationship between self-compassion and burnout. The research is a descriptive study and the sample of the study consists of 297 psychological counselors who work in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools of the Ministry of National Education in the provinces of Gaziantep, Şehitkamil and Şahinbey. Counselor Burnout Inventory, Self-Compassion Scale, Dispositional Hope Scale and Personal Information Form prepared by the researcher were used as data collection tools. The data obtained within the scope of the research were analyzed in computer environment by SPSS 20.0 program. Preliminary analyzes were performed first in the analysis of the data. Pearson Correlation Analysis techniques were applied to investigate the relationships between descriptive statistics and research variables. Following the preliminary analyzes, independent samples t-test and ANOVA (one-way analysis of variance) were used in the first phase of the study in order to investigate the burnout which constitutes the dependent variable of the study. In the second phase of the study, a macro (PROCESS) developed by Hayes was used to examine the mediator role of hope in the relationship between self-compassion and burnout. Sobel test and bootstrap confidence intervals results were taken into consideration in determining the significance and effect level of the tool.As a result of the research, it was determined that the level of burnout of the school counselors did not differ significantly in terms of gender and term of office, which differed significantly in terms of marital status, educational status and willingness to choose a profession. When the relationships between the research variables are examined, it is positive between self-compassion and hope; it was concluded that there was a negative correlation between self-compassion and burnout and negatively correlated with hope and burnout. Within the scope of the research, the burnout of self-compassion is direct and negative; the results were obtained in a meaningful and direct way. In addition, it was determined that hope in a meaningful and direct negative predictive of burnout. As a result of the analyzes performed, it has been concluded that hope plays a partial mediator role in the relationship between self-compassion and burnout. The findings were discussed in the light of the information in the literature and suggestions were made for researchers and practitioners based on the research findings. Keywords: Burnout, Self-Compassion, Hope, School Counselors