• job stress, coping strategies, and

burnout among abuse-specific

counselors
Sam Loc Wallace
Jayoung Lee
Sang Min Lee

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether effective coping strategies play an
important role to reduce burnout levels among sexual or substance abuse counselors.
The authors examined whether coping strategies mediated or moderated relations
between job stress and burnout in a sample of 232 abuse-specific counselors. Results
indicated that self-distraction and behavior disengagement coping strategies medi-
ated the relationships between 3 job stress variables (workload, role conflict, and
job ambiguity) and burnout. Although venting and humor coping strategies positively
moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and burnout, active coping strate-
gies negatively moderated the relationship between workload and burnout.

Although the counseling profession can have many rewards, burnout can be a potential
outcome of providing counseling and psychotherapy. Burnout is conceptualized as a
psychological syndrome in response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stress
on the job and is most widely defined by the dimensions of exhaustion, deperson-
alization, and inefficacy (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001). Much of the focus of
burnout research has been with individuals who work in the human services field
(Vredenburgh, Carlozzi, & Stein, 1999). There has been increasing recognition and
study of this problem in the counselors who are working with sexual offenders and
substance abuse clients. It is believed that burnout is a potential response to the
emotional stress of working with others who are troubled (Everall & Paulson, 2004).
Several studies (Pearlman, 1996; Pearlman & Saakvitne, 1995; Rich, 1997) reported
that abuse-specific counselors working with sexual offenders and substance abuse
clients would exhibit evidence of cognitive disruptions at levels higher than those of
a criterion reference group of general mental health professionals. The impact on the
counselor is believed to have direct adverse consequences to the clients they serve.
Burnout may emerge in session as a loss of empathy, respect, and positive feelings for
abuse-specific clients; more therapeutic gridlock; and boundary violations (Pearlman
& MacIan, 1995; Skorupa & Agresti, 1993). When the mental health professional
becomes burned out, she or he may exhibit behaviors that affect the quality of care

Sam Loc Wallace, Department of Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders,
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Jayoung Lee and Sang Min Lee, Department of Education, Korea
University, Seoul, Korea. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sang Min
Lee, Department of Education, College of Education, Korea University, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu,
Seoul, Korea (e-mail: leesang@korea.ac.kr).

© 2010 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.

journal of employment counseling • September 2010 • Volume 47 111
provided to clients (McCarthy & Frieze, 1999). Because the consequences of burn-
out can ultimately impair clients, it is clearly an issue of professional and ethical
behavior to develop awareness of burnout (American Counseling Association, 2005;
Everall & Paulson, 2004).
The relationships between people and work have been recognized as a catalyst for
potential problems (Maslach et al., 2001). Adverse emotional and behavioral sequelae
of job satisfaction and burnout for helping professionals have been identified in several
studies (Bingham, Valenstein, Blow, & Alexander, 2002; Kirk-Brown & Wallace, 2004;
Malach-Pines & Yafe-Yanai, 2001). The importance of studying burnout within an
organizational context has been suggested by several researchers (Emerson & Markos,
1996; T. D. Evans & Villavisanis, 1997; Malach-Pines & Yafe-Yanai, 2001; McCarthy
& Frieze, 1999). Job-related factors have been demonstrated to affect counselors’ levels
of burnout, with counselors in institutional settings being more vulnerable to burnout
(Farber, 1990; Rosenberg & Pace, 2006; Trudeau, Russell, de la Mora, & Schmitz,
2001; Yu, Lee, & Lee, 2007). Higher rates of emotional exhaustion and depersonali-
zation were found in counselors working in community agency settings versus those
in private practice, where it is believed that counselors are able to regulate their job-
related stress easier because of working outside of a bureaucratic hierarchical system
(Rosenberg & Pace, 2006). These findings are consistent with the Job Demand–Control
(JD-C) model (Karasek, 1979) that suggests that job control protects the individual
from problematic and damaging work environments. Models of job environment and
the subsequent work–life have been proposed to play a central role in the process of
burnout (Maslach et al., 2001). The interaction of these factors and personal charac-
teristics contribute to a rich matrix of considerations for developing burnout. Within
the expanded conceptualization of burnout, the work–life and job stress framework
can augment the understanding of burnout.
Coping strategies are the ways in which individuals choose to respond to stressful
situations (Welbourne, Eggerth, Hartley, Andrew, & Sanchez, 2007). Parkes (1994)
suggested that personal characteristics such as coping strategies can mediate or
moderate relations between job demands (stressors) and job strains (burnout symp-
toms). Individual differences in coping strategies have been theorized to derive
from traditional personality dimensions and have been supported in several studies
(Armstrong-Strassen, 2004; Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989; McCormick, Dowd,
Quirk, & Zegarra, 1998). Effective coping strategies may play an important role in
reducing stress levels and increasing job satisfaction. Welbourne et al. (2007) reported
that using nonavoidant coping strategies was associated with higher job satisfaction
rates. Avoidant coping strategies have also been shown to be related to increased
emotional exhaustion and decreased personal accomplishment (G. D. Evans, Bry-
ant, Owens, & Koukos, 2004). Increasing the understanding of the role of various
coping strategies on the relations between job stress and burnout can help identify
effective coping skills to reduce exhaustion and depersonalization and increase a
sense of personal competence and efficacy (G. D. Evans et al., 2004).
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among organizational job
stress, coping strategies, and burnout. We examined whether the function of coping
strategies mediated or moderated relations between job stress and counselor burnout.

112 journal of employment counseling • September 2010 • Volume 47

Specifically, using the Baron and Kenny’s (1986) mediation and moderation model,
we analyzed for identifying mediating and moderating relationships between coping
strategies and counselor burnout as they relate to types and severity of job stress as
perceived by abuse-specific counselors. This study is innovative in that it identifies
the role and function of coping strategies as mediating and moderating factors in
relation to job stress and counselor burnout.

METHOD

Participants

The participants were 232 abuse-specific counselors (i.e., either sexual abuse
counselors or substance abuse counselors). Participants in the study were col-
lected through a web-based survey or by mail. An e-mail containing a link to the
survey and measures was sent to two electronic mailing lists; one with a focus on
sex offender treatment and research (Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abus-
ers electronic mailing list and one with a focus on maltreatment and victim issues
[Prevent–Connect]). Additionally, e-mails were sent to substance abuse treatment
facilities located on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
facility locator webpage. Of the hard copy surveys, 120 were mailed to treatment
facilities or individual practitioners that were identified to work in one of the three
areas of treatment specialty. Facilities and practitioners were identified through a
web search of programs and practitioners who were identified as having a treat-
ment focus in one or more of the respective categories (e.g., certified sex offender
treatment providers in Texas, rape crisis centers, substance abuse programs). Of
the aforementioned surveys, 44 were returned for review making the response rate
36.67%. Included in the sample were participants from 35 states as well as seven
other countries (Japan, France, India, Israel, Canada, Australia, and the United
Kingdom; n = 21). The mean age of the sample was 42.96 years (SD = 11.94, range
= 23–76 years). Of the 232 participants included in the study, 71.4% were women
and 28.4% were men. The racial/ethnic composition of the participants was 93.5%
European American, 3.9% Asian American, 1.3% African American, 0.9% Indian
American, and 0.4% Hispanic American. These individuals had been working in their
respective counseling organizations for an average of 10.71 years (SD = 7.51). Their
main discipline fields were social work (32.1%), mental health (17.7%), counselor
education (5.6%), rehabilitation counseling (1.9%), and others (42.1%). Also, this
sample is composed of master-level counselors (63.6%), doctoral-level counselors
(21.8%), graduate counselors (11.1%; i.e., nonlicensed counselors with a bachelor’s
degree), and specialist counselors (3.1%; i.e., counselors with an educational specialist’s
degree such as Ed.S.). (Percentages may not total 100% because of rounding.)

Instruments

Job Stress Scale (JSS; Caplan, Cobb, French, Van Harrison, & Pinneau, 1975). The
JSS is a 13-item self-report questionnaire that measures the frequency with which

journal of employment counseling • September 2010 • Volume 47 113

an individual experiences four dimensions of job stress: (a) Workload, which measures
the quantitative aspect of work overload resulting from time pressures (e.g., “How often
does your job leave you with little or no time to get things done?”); (b) Role Conflict,
which is a state in which rationally incompatible demands are made upon the individual
by two or more persons whose jobs are functionally codependent with the individual’s
job (e.g., “How often do persons equal in rank and authority over you ask you to do
things which conflict?”); (c) Role Ambiguity, which is a state in which a person has
inadequate information to perform their role in an organization (e.g., “How often are
you clear on what your job responsibilities are?”); and (d) Lack of Utilization, which is
a stress factor related to underutilization of previously acquired skills in carrying out
tasks required on the job (e.g., “How often can use the skills from previous training?”).
Individuals respond to items using a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never)
to 7 (always). The four-factor structure was confirmed in a study conducted by Hamel
and Bracken (1986) and was additional support for the contention that job stress is a
multidimensional phenomenon. In this study, Cronbach’s alphas of .90, .81, .69, and
.83 were obtained, respectively, for the Workload, Role Conflict, Role Ambiguity, and
Lack of Utilization JSS subscales.
Brief COPE (Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced) Inventory (Carver,
1997). The Brief COPE Inventory is a 28-item self-report questionnaire that assesses
an individual’s cognitive and behavior coping strategies. It is an abbreviated ver-
sion of the COPE Inventory (Carver et al., 1989), which has problems regarding the
length and redundancy of the full instrument as well as the overall time burden of
the assessment protocol. The Brief COPE Inventory produces distinct scores for each
of the 14 coping strategies: (a) active coping, (b) planning, (c) use of instrumental
support, (d) religion, (e) venting, (f) positive reframing, (g) humor, (h) acceptance,
(i) use of emotional support, (j) self-distraction, (k) denial, (l) behavioral disengage-
ment, (m) self-blame, and (n) substance use. Individuals respond to iems using a
4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (I haven’t been doing this at all) to 3 (I’ve
been doing this alot) to express the frequency of use for each of the coping behaviors.
In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha achieved for all items of the inventory was .78.
Counselor Burnout Inventory (CBI; Lee et al., 2007). The CBI is a 20-item self-
report questionnaire that measures various levels of burnout. The CBI provides
norm-referenced measures of a counselor’s burnout syndrome on five factorially
derived burnout dimensions: Exhaustion, Incompetence, Negative Work Environment,
Devaluing Client, and Deterioration in Personal Life. Its focus on the counselor’s
work environment is unique to this inventory. This unique component corresponds
with recent counseling burnout literature that accentuates the role one’s workplace
environment plays in promoting burnout (Azar, 2000; Maslach, 2005; Osborn, 2004;
Savicki & Cooley, 1981; Thompson, 1999). In this study, the CBI total score was
used to assess the overall level of a counselor’s burnout. Individuals respond to items
using a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = never true; 5 = always true). The CBI contains
items reflecting characteristics of feelings and behaviors that indicate various levels
of burnout. Lee et al. (2007) reported alpha coefficient total scores of .88. Support
for construct validity was obtained through exploratory factor analysis that identified
a five-factor solution and a confirmatory factor analysis with all goodness-of-fit in-

114 journal of employment counseling • September 2010 • Volume 47

dexes also indicating an adequate fit to the data (Lee et al., 2007; Yu, Lee, & Nesbit,
2008). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha achieved for all items of the CBI was .88.

Data Analyses

In this study, 19 variables were investigated: four variables rating perceived severity of
job stress, 14 variables rating coping strategies, and one variable rating level of counselor
burnout. We analyzed the relationships among these variables by using multiple regression/
correlation analyses by the Baron and Kenny (1986) model (i.e., mediation and moderation
analyses). Specifically, we examined whether the function of coping strategies mediated
between job stress and counselor burnout. The test for mediation in this study involved
evaluating if the influence of job stress on counselor burnout manifests itself through the
types and severity of the counselor’s coping strategies; also, we analyzed whether coping
strategies moderated the relationship between job stress and burnout. The test for modera-
tion in this study involved evaluating the 56 interactions between four subscales of the JSS
(predictors) and 14 types of coping strategies (moderators) on counselor burnout (criterion
variable). Namely, in our analysis, we identified mediating and moderating relationships
between coping strategies and counselor burnout, as they relate to types, and severity of
job stress, as perceived by abuse-specific counselors. All data were analyzed using SPSS
(Version 15.0), and all significance values shown were based on two-tailed tests.

RESULTS

To test the hypothesis that 14 types of coping strategies would mediate the relationship
between four types of job stress and counselor burnout, the three-step tests of media-
tion suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986) were used. In this study, the three-step
test for mediation involved (a) regressing the criterion variable (counselor burnout) on
the predictor variables (subscales of the JSS), (b) regressing the mediators (scales of
the Brief COPE Inventory) on the predictor variables (subscales of the JSS), and (c)
regressing the criterion variable (counselor burnout) on both the predictors (subscales
of the JSS) and mediators (scales of the Brief COPE Inventory).
First, the relationships between subscales of the JSS (predictor variables) and counselor
burnout (criterion variable) were significant, F(4, 203) = 29.50, p < .01. Significant main
effects were shown for Workload (β = .40, p < .01), Role Conflict (β = .77, p < .01), Role
Ambiguity (β = .53, p < .05), and Lack of Utilization (β = .60, p < .01) on counselor burn-
out. These results fulfilled the mediation criteria in the first step of Baron and Kenny’s
(1986) model. Second, a correlation analysis was used to measure the relationship be-
tween perceived severity of four types of job stress and 14 types of coping strategies. Nine
mediators (i.e., self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, use of instrumental
support, behavioral disengagement, planning, humor, and self-blame) were statistically
significantly correlated with at least one of the predictor variables. However, five media-
tors (i.e., use of emotional support, venting, positive reframing, acceptance, and religion)
were not statistically significantly correlated with any predictor variables. Additionally, a
multiple regression analysis was used to test the relationship between significant variables
in the second step (self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, use of instrumen-

journal of employment counseling • September 2010 • Volume 47 115

tal support, behavioral disengagement, planning, humor, and self-blame variables) and
counselor burnout (the criterion variable). Among nine mediators, only seven mediators,
self-distraction (β = .16, p < .05), denial (β = .12, p < .05), substance use (β = .15, p <
.05), behavioral disengagement (β = .33, p < .01), planning (β = .33, p < .01), humor (β
= .14, p < .05), and self-blame (β = .13, p < .05), were statistically significant. Therefore,
when considering these results, active coping and use of instrumental support of coping
strategies were not considered for further analysis in the third step.
In the third step, a test of the additional variance explained by the mediators (seven
coping strategies: self-distraction, denial, substance use, behavioral disengagement,
planning, humor, and self-blame variables) in addition to four job stress variables were
significant, F(9, 190) = 13.65, p < .01, ΔR2 = .16. As shown in Table 1, the follow-up
tests indicated that greater workload, role conflict, and role ambiguity and greater
self-distraction and behavioral disengagement uniquely predicted more counselor
burnout, t(197) = 2.62, p < .05 and t(197) = 3.74, p < .01, respectively. More important,
complete mediation was observed because the predictor variable (job ambiguity) was
not significantly related to the criterion variable (counselor burnout) in the presence
of the mediators (self-distraction and behavioral disengagement). In addition, the re-
lationship between two predictor variables (workload and role conflict) and criterion
variable (counselor burnout) were partially mediated by two mediator variables (self-
distraction and behavior disengagement) because the effect on counselor burnout of
two job stress variables (workload and role conflict) was substantially decreased (see
Table 1). When applying Sobel’s (1982) mediation test to determine if the amount of
mediation was significant, the self-distraction variable partially mediated the rela-
TABLE 1
Multiple Regression Analysis of Counselor Burnout (Criterion Variable)
Predicted by Coping Strategies (Mediator Variables) and
Job Stress (Predictor Variables)
Variable B SE b t DR2 R2 DF
Step 1 .39 .39 30.86
Workloada 0.42 .11 .25 3.71**
Role Conflicta 0.78 .27 .22 2.90**
Role Ambiguitya 0.64 .21 .23 3.13**
Lack of Utilizationa 0.42 .21 .14 1.97
Step 2 .16 .55 13.65
Workloada 0.32 .10 .19 3.23**
Role Conflicta 0.71 .24 .20 3.02**
Role Ambiguitya 0.36 .18 .13 1.97
Lack of Utilizationa
0.34 .19 .11 1.81
Self-Distractionb 0.98 .37 .15 2.62*
Denialb 0.85 .62 .08 1.36
Substance Useb 0.79 .45 .09 1.77
Behavioral Disengagement 2.08
b
.56 .22 3.74**
Planningb 0.52 .32 .09 1.65
Humorb 0.23 .28 .04 0.83
Self-Blameb 0.46 .38 .07 1.22
a
Job Stress Scale subscale. bBrief COPE (Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced)
Inventory scale.
*p < .05. **p < .01.

116 journal of employment counseling • September 2010 • Volume 47

tionship between workload and counselor burnout (Z = 2.25, p < .05). In addition,
behavior disengagement partially mediated the relationship between workload and
counselor burnout (Z = 3.49, p < .01) as well as the relationship between role conflict
and counselor burnout (Z = 3.53, p < .01).
Next, we tested the alternative hypothesis that coping strategies moderated the relation-
ship between job stress and counselor burnout. A moderator is a variable that changes the
relationship between a predictor variable and a criterion variable (Frazier, Tix, & Barron,
2004). The main purpose for identifying and constructing moderators is to increase pre-
dictive effectiveness (Abrahams & Alf, 1972). The moderator model tested the effects of
four types of job stress (predictors) and the 14 types of coping strategies (moderators) as
well as their interactions (e.g., Workload × Active Coping) on counselor burnout (criterion
variable). For these tests, both the amount of variance (R2: effect size) accounted for by
job stress and coping strategies and their interactions and the statistical significance of the
change in F produced by entering the job stress and coping strategies and their interac-
tions were considered. When the interaction increased the R2 by a statistically significant
amount, the two variables were moderating each other’s relationship with burnout. Table 2
summarizes only the significant moderating effects of coping strategies on the relationship
between job stress (predictors) and counselor burnout (criterion variable). Specifically, ac-
tive coping strategies moderated the relationship between workload and counselor burnout
and increased the explained variance by a statistically significant amount (β = –.17, F =
16.59, ΔR2 = .03, p < .01). In addition, venting coping strategies moderated the relationship
between role ambiguity and counselor burnout and increased the explained variance by a
statistically significant amount (β = .14, ΔF = 25.00, ΔR2 = .02, p < .05). Humor coping
strategies also moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and counselor burnout
and increased the explained variance by a statistically significant amount (β = .13, ΔF =
20.42, ΔR2 = .02, p < .05).

DISCUSSION

The findings of the current research contribute to an increased understanding of the

relationship between coping strategies and counselor burnout as these processes relate
to specific types of job stress among abuse-specific counselors. There are several
TABLE 2
Moderating Effects of Coping Strategies on Job Stress
and Counselor Burnout
Variable IE I b IE 2 b IE 3 b
Workload × Active Coping
a b
–.17*
Role Ambiguitya × Ventingb .13*
Role Ambiguitya × Humorb .13*
R2 .19** .27** .23**
DR2 .03* .02* .02*
Note. IE = interaction effect.
a
Job Sress Scale subscale. bBrief COPE (Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced)
Inventory scale.
*p < .05. **p < .01.

journal of employment counseling • September 2010 • Volume 47 117

significant implications for theory, training, and practice for the profession of abuse-
specific counseling. In support of the Job Demand–Resource (JD-R) or JD-C models
that were the widely known theories used to explain the worker burnout process
(Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004), the
noteworthy outcome of the present research is that the job demand variables (e.g.,
JSS subscales) increased counselor burnout while the resource or control variables
(e.g., active coping strategies) helped reduce job demand variables, thereby helping
to decrease the feeling of burnout among abuse-specific counselors.
The JD-R or JD-C models conceptualize burnout not only as the result of a period
of expending too much effort at work while having too little recovery (Osborn, 2004)
but also as an erosion of engagement with the job (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzales-
Roma, & Bakker, 2002). Results of the present study also indicated that avoidant
emotional coping strategies, specifically self-distraction and behavior disengagement,
mediated the relationship between three JSS subscales (Work Load, Role Conflict, and
Job Ambiguity) and counselor burnout. In particular, the complete mediation effect
was observed between job ambiguity and counselor burnout. That is, the job stress
variables were positively related to greater levels of self-distraction and behavior
disengagement coping strategies, and, in turn, greater self-distraction and behavior
disengagement coping strategies were positively related to greater burnout among
abuse-specific counselors. The interpretation of these findings suggests that the re-
lationship between job stress and burnout is accounted for, in part, by the function
of how negatively counselors cope with the stressful situation (i.e., avoidant coping
strategies and erosion of engagement with the job).
In addition, the findings of the present study show some moderation effects.
Emotional coping strategies, such as venting and humor, positively moderate the
relationship between role ambiguity job stress and counselor burnout. Significant
findings reflect that when abuse-specific counselors use venting and humor coping
strategies and report higher role ambiguity, they have higher levels of burnout.
Conversely, active coping strategies negatively moderate the relationship between
work load stress and counselor burnout. Unlike emotional coping strategies, even
when abuse-specific counselors reported higher work load in their jobs, if they used
an active coping strategy, they reported lower levels of burnout. These findings sug-
gested that investigating and discussing counselors’ current coping strategies toward
job stress may lead to preventing or alleviating their burnout symptoms.
The present study supports the importance of understanding coping strategies
that may alleviate abuse-specific counselors’ burnout when they are faced with the
stressful demands of their particular field of work. The findings can be discussed
within a supervisory relationship in which the counselor can be monitored and nur-
tured. Supervision can guide abuse-specific counselors to understand their internal
mechanisms by helping them identify their current coping strategies and by exploring
alternative effective coping strategies, especially for novice abuse-specific counselors.
Yu et al. (2008) also stressed that supervision contributes significantly in preventing
and alleviating counselors’ burnout. Thus, ongoing supervision is essential for both
those who are just entering the counseling profession and for those who are more
experienced counselors. Clinical supervision helps novice counselors to shape ap-

118 journal of employment counseling • September 2010 • Volume 47

propriate coping strategies (i.e., active coping strategies based on the results of the
present study) and also helps experienced counselors reduce the existing ineffec-
tive coping strategies (i.e., self-distraction, behavior disengagement, venting, and
humor based on the results of the present study) in situations that are stressful in
their jobs. In other words, supervisors could discuss the appropriate coping styles
to help address unsettled role conflict and ambiguity in the work environment that
could potentially result in professional impairment. Thus, identifying individual
counselors’ dysfunctional and functional coping strategies could be a valuable
supplemental supervisory tool that could lead to productive discourse within the
supervisory relationship.
The findings of this study lend support to the expanded conceptualization of
burnout that includes organizational sources. The findings also increase explanatory
research on conceptual development of job stress models. The social environment
and functioning of the workplace play an important role in how people interact with
one another and, ultimately, how they perform their jobs (Maslach, 2005). Organi-
zational development strategies may be of interest when considering the role of the
organization on job stress and burnout. Diagnostic models indicate that job design,
or the value of the work, should be supported by job inputs, or organizational work
environment and culture, in order to produce the most effective job outputs, or
products and results (Cummings & Worley, 2005). The most salient organizational
variable contributing to burnout in this study was job ambiguity. When abuse-specific
counselors are not clear on what their job responsibilities are, what others in the
workplace expect of them, or how to define their standard of performance, occupa-
tional stress will likely occur. It is important for supervisors and administrators to
understand that clarity in the role of the abuse-specific counselor is a key factor to
consider in job design and role assignment. Special attention should be paid to the
roles of abuse-specific counselors in some settings, such as residential treatment,
where conflict may arise when interacting with other professionals who have different
job functions (e.g., nurses, physicians, teachers, and direct care staff). These other
professional staff members may place demands on the counselor that are contrary
to counselors’ training, thereby increasing role ambiguity and the likelihood for
burnout. Additionally, counselors who work with sex offenders often have outside
stakeholders such as probation officers and officers of the courts who may view the
counselor as an extension of law enforcement, thereby potentially creating additional
expectations and job ambiguity. Attention to these types of potential stressors and
organizational pitfalls as well as how counselors cope with these stressors are im-
portant considerations for those in supervisory roles. Clarifying the abuse-specific
counselor’s role and performance of duties should be a routine part of counselor job
orientation and ongoing training.
It is important to note that statistical mediation and moderation were examined
in this study, and, as such, no causal inferences may be drawn from this study
(Skowron, Wester, & Azen, 2004). In addition, all measures were obtained by
self-report questionnaires, and participants were anonymous and self-selected.
Thus, abuse-specific counselors may have responded in ways that did not reflect
their actual attitudes and beliefs for various personal reasons. Also, some abuse-

journal of employment counseling • September 2010 • Volume 47 119

specific counselors who did not identify any job stress within their work environment may
have judged their participation in this study to have little impact on them and chose not
to participate. Thus, future research could use multiple measures (e.g., observation) to
assess the variables, thereby giving a clearer picture of the long-term effects of job stress
and coping strategies on burnout. Considering the sample of the current study, it is also
important to know the limitations of the generalizability of the results. For example, the
skewed distribution of sex and race (European American, female counselors) might have
an effect on the variability of the results. Finally, further limitations of the study relate
to cultural implications of construct definition and our sample selection. Healthy coping
strategies are contextually and socially defined and may vary from culture to culture (Sue
& Sue, 2003). Ultimately, coping strategies cannot be viewed apart from the influences of
race, ethnicity, and culture. For example, in some cultures (e.g., African American and
Hispanic), spiritual or religious coping may be strongly emphasized, whereas in others
(e.g., European American), intrinsic sources of support (e.g., self-reliance) are highly
valued. Also, although some cultures encourage open disclosure and expression of emo-
tion (e.g., Hispanic), others discourage such displays (e.g., Native American; Sue & Sue,
2003). Further research with more diverse counselors (in terms of sex and race) would
allow counseling researchers to determine if significant similarities or differences exist
in job stress, coping strategies, and burnout levels between male and female counselors
and between European American counselors and minority counselors.

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