Compassion Fatigue Syndrome in Social Workers and Its relationship with Emotional Intelligence

• Published in: Social work (New York) Vol. 69; no. 1; pp. 26 - 34
• Main Authors: Barrera-Algarín, Evaristo, Castro-Ibáñez, Rebeca, Vallejo-Andrada, Ana, Martínez-Fernández, Rocío
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Oxford University Press 23.12.2023
• Subjects: Altruism; Burnout, Professional - psychology; Compassion Fatigue - psychology; Emotional Intelligence; Empathy; Fatigue (Biology); Humans; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of Results; Social Work; Social Workers; Surveys and Questionnaires; emotional intelligence; social intervention; compassion fatigue; social work
• ISSN: 0037-8046; 1545-6846; 1545-6846
• DOI: 10.1093/sw/swad038

A study was conducted on how emotional intelligence and compassion fatigue (CF) interact in social workers. The hypothesis was that social workers with higher emotional intelligence were less likely to suffer/develop CF. A sample of 264 subjects was selected from among 2,014 active social workers in Seville (Spain). They were administered a sociodemographic questionnaire (α = .710), the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Short Form (α = .790), and the Compassion Fatigue Scale (α = .770). Authors carried out a reliability analysis (Cronbach’s alpha), a frequency study, contingency tables, a Pearson-type correlations analysis, a linear regression analysis, and analysis of variance–type significance tests (with values between p = .001 and p = .005). The social workers who participated in this study presented high emotional intelligence, yet high rates of CF were found. Specifically, the lower the social worker’s manifest level of emotional intelligence, the greater the suffering of CF. Overall, social workers with higher emotional intelligence were less likely to suffer or develop CF.