A study of the relationship between humor styles and dimensions of burnout among nurses in Najaf Abad in 2013

Nurses experience several occupational stresses because of the nature of their jobs. In case effective strategies are not employed to cope with these occupational stresses, burnout will result whose consequences are problematic. Research about this issue can lead to proper planning. Therefore, this paper aimed to study the relationship between adaptive and maladaptive humor styles and dimensions of burnout among nurses. In this descriptive-analytic research, a sample of 146 nurses was randomly selected from among all nurses with inclusion criteria who worked in general hospitals in Najaf Abad in 2013. Tools included Maslach’s Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ). Data were analyzed in SPSS (version 18) using Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression. Results indicated that emotional exhaustion was predictable by self-enhancing and self-defeating styles (R2=0.25). Personal accomplishment could be predicted by affiliative, self-defeating, and aggressive styles (R2=0.23). And depersonalization was just predictable by affiliative humor style (R2=0.07). Since adaptive and maladaptive humor styles have an important role in predicting burnout, application of positive humor is a way to reduce burnout among nurses who may encounter several stressful situations every day.