Construct validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐General Survey

Abstract The construct validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) has been a major point of focus for many studies. The validity of the MBI‐General Survey (MBI‐GS), a newly developed instrument intended for use outside the human services has not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this present study is to investigate the validity of the MBI‐GS. The Japanese language version of the MBI‐GS was prepared for this research and it was administered to a sample of intermediate managers (n = 696) working for a manufacturing company in Japan. The total of 691 effective data were obtained. The exploratory factor analysis replicated the same three‐factor structure (Exhaustion, Cynicism, and Professional Efficacy) as the original whereas inter‐factor correlation between Exhaustion and Cynicism was moderate. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for all three subscales were above 0.80. The confirmatory factor analysis supported a three‐factor model whereas Exhaustion and Cynicism were moderately related. To investigate the construct validity, three subscales of the MBI‐GS were then related to selected work characteristics. Based on conservation of resources theory, differential patterns of effects were predicted among the correlates and the burnout subscales. A path analysis revealed that the expectations were largely supported, suggesting that the meaning of the three subscales is quite different with a path from Exhaustion to Cynicism. The study found support for the construct validity of the MBI‐GS. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.