De Compassietevredenheid van Begeleiders in de Residentiële Jeugdhulpverlening en de Samenhang met Begeleider- en Organisatiefactoren

Abstract

Background. Working in a residential setting with children with severe behavior problems can put professional child care workers (PCCW) at risk for burnout or health problems, but is also associated with Compassion Satisfaction (CS). CS refers to the feeling of fulfilment and pleasure of the professional being able to help an individual. The wellbeing of helping professionals is important for the quality of the care they provide. Aim. To investigate the level of CS of these PCCW and what employee and organization factors are related to this, in order to give advice to residential youth care facilities to maximize the CS of their PCCW. Method. A structured questionnaire (Professional Quality Of Life Scale) was used to measure CS. A self-constructed questionnaire was used to measure employee and organization factors. 56 PCCW took part in this research. Results. The average score of CS was M = 38.34 (SD = 4.79), which is an average degree of CS. No respondent had a low feeling of CS. The results indicate that three factors are related to higher levels of CS. Those PCCW who respectively feel more supported by the organization, have better relationships with their colleagues and feel more competent in doing their job, experience more CS. Discussion. To increase the level of CS, it seems important to strengthen the relationships between coworkers, for example by organizing team building activities and outings. Furthermore, it seems considerable to consolidate the experience of competence and the feeling of support from the organization, for instance by providing intervision, training and individual mentoring.