The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacy.

Introduction: Burnout, a work-related syndrome, considerably overlaps with depression. Despite its negative impact on modern society, the underlying mechanisms and effective interventions remain unclear. This study explores the effects of behavioral activation (BA) on burnout and investigates potential mediators within this relationship.

Method: Participants consisted of 471 Korean adults aged 20 to 69, recruited from the community through a research panel. They completed a self-administered online survey via personal computers or mobile devices. The survey included self-report measures such as the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale-Short Form (BADS-SF), the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), the Self-Efficacy (SE).

Results: Path analysis results indicated that higher behavioral activation levels were associated with increased acceptance-based action and self-efficacy, as well as reduced automatic negative thoughts. Additionally, greater acceptance-based action and self-efficacy were linked to lower burnout levels, whereas more frequent automatic negative thoughts were associated with higher burnout levels. Furthermore, structural equation modeling revealed that the relationship between behavioral activation and psychological burnout was fully mediated by these three variables.

Discussion: This study demonstrated a significant relationship between behavioral activation and burnout symptoms, with acceptance-based action, automatic negative thoughts, and self-efficacy acting as mediators. These findings offer valuable insights for developing effective treatment protocols for burnout within the BA framework.