The Maslach Burnout Inventory: Factorial validity and consistency across occupational groups in Norway

The present study tested the factorial validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory among 1590 human service workers. Confirmatory factor analyses of the total sample as well as multi‐group analyses and analyses of each of seven professional groups separately, indicated that the original three‐factor model of the MBI provided a reasonable fit to the data. However, a factorial model with items 12 and 16 removed provided a superior fit, with two of the fit indices over .90 and an RMSEA value of .06. The results of a multi‐group analyses for the seven occupational groups showed a slightly poorer fit to the data than in the total sample. With a few exceptions, the fit indices of the models tested for each subsample separately indicated similar results, and the proposed 20‐item model also provided the best fit for the subsamples. Internal consistencies of the subscales of the MBI were acceptable, and test‐retest reliability indicated stability of scores over a 6‐month interval. These results indicated that the proposed three‐factor structure of the MBI based on 20 items can be replicated in the total sample as well as across occupations within human services in Norway.