Burnout, stress factors, and locus of control in a group of prison guards

The relationship between burnout, stress factors and locus of control are being studied in a group of 85 prison guards. Among the assessment instruments, the following were applied: The Maslach Burnout Inventory, (Maslach and Jackson, 1981), the Rotter s Locus of Control Scale, (Rotter, 1954), and a questionnaire developed to evaluate the source s of work stress in a prison context. Results indicate a greater predictive capacity of stress factors concerning emotional exhaustion, and a bigger predisposition to exhaustion in people with an external locus of control.