Social problem-solving ability as a protective mediator: Reducing burnout among counselors in high-stress educational contexts

This study examines whether counselors’ social problem-solving ability can mitigate the impact of high job stress on burnout in demanding educational settings. Drawing on the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) model and the Job Demand-Control-Support (JDCS) model as frameworks for occupational stress, and integrating Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) constructs as personal resources, we test a model in which social problem-solving skills act as a mediator, buffering counselors from burnout. A cross-sectional survey of 401 university counselors was conducted. Participants completed measures of job stressors (ERI and JDCS), career-related personal resources (self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goals from SCCT), social problem-solving ability (Social Problem-Solving Inventory–Revised, SPSI-R), and burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory–Educators Survey, MBI-ES). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the direct effects of stressors and SCCT constructs on burnout, and the indirect effects via problem-solving ability. The SEM results supported our hypotheses. High ERI and high job demands/low control (JDCS conditions) were directly associated with increased counselor burnout, whereas strong SCCT-related personal resources were associated with reduced burnout. Importantly, social problem-solving ability was a significant protective mediator: higher problem-solving skills were associated with lower burnout and partly buffered the negative effects of ERI and JDCS on burnout. Indirect effect analyses (bootstrapped) confirmed that problem-solving ability significantly mediated the relationships between each job stressor and burnout (accounting for approximately 11–12% of the total effects). Social problem-solving capacity serves as a valuable personal resource that alleviates the impact of chronic work stress on counselor burnout. Interventions to enhance counselors’ problem-solving skills, alongside organizational efforts to reduce effort–reward imbalance and extreme job demands, may jointly reduce burnout risk in high-stress educational contexts. These findings underscore the importance of developing problem-focused coping resources to maintain well-being among counseling professionals.