The psychometric properties of the Icelandic translation of the Burnout Assessment Tool

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Icelandic translations of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT), a new self-report measure for burnout. The BAT consists of 33 questions, with six subscales. Four subscales for the core symptoms of burnout (BAT-C), exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive impairment and emotional impairment. Two subscales for the secondary symptoms of burnout (BAT-S), psychological complaints and psychosomatic complaints. An internet survey was conducted in order to confirm the reliability, construct validity, and factorial validity of the questionnaire. Statistical analysis of the core symptoms and secondary symptoms of burnout according to BAT was done separately. The first wave sample consisted of 290 employees of the finance industry, 98 (41%) of participants returned to answer the questionnaire again, two weeks later, to assess its test-rest reliability. Results show that the BAT-C and BAT-S are reliable, Cronbach alpha; .94 and .87 respectively. Moreover, the test-retest reliability of the BAT-C and BAT-S was acceptable. The BAT-C and BAT-S convergent and divergent validity was good, demonstrated by its correlations with the Karolinska Exhaustion Disorder Scale (KEDS) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). As for the factorial validity, results from exploratory factor analysis show that the factorial structure of BAT-C and BAT-S is largely consistent with the research done so far. Results demonstrated a four-factor solution for the BAT-C and a two-factor solution for the BAT-S. Results from confirmatory factor analysis were in accordance with results from this study exploratory factor analysis and previous research findings. Out of four models tested for both BAT-C and BAT-S, a bifactor model had the best fit. The current study provides the first evidence that the Icelandic translation of the BAT is a valid and reliable measure of burnout.