The Difference in Future Thinking Between Nurses with and without Burnout: A Case-Control Study

The present study aimed to assess differences in the expectation of positive and negative future events between nurses with and without burnout, as well as differences among nurses with different levels of burnout. A case-control study design were adopted for this research. Participants were recruited from a tertiary hospital in the eastern region of China. Data collection took place between November 2021 and March 2022. Based on the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, participants were categorized into four groups: mild burnout, moderate burnout, severe burnout, and no burnout. Between-group comparisons included nurses with and without burnout, while within-group comparisons included nurses with different levels of burnout. The Oral Word Association Test (OWAT) and Future Thinking Task (FTT) were used to obtain 40 items related to nurses’ future thinking. Participants used a computer to assess the likelihood, importance, and emotional responses to each scenario. Nurses’ perceptions of the likelihood of positive future events are negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and positively correlated with low personal accomplishment. Compared to nurses without burnout, those with burnout have more pessimistic expectations and believe that negative future events are more likely to occur. Nurses with burnout perceive positive future events as less important, and as the severity of burnout increases, they view negative future events as more significant. The present study demonstrated that nurses with burnout are more likely to have negative expectations of the future and to improperly highlight the importance of future negative events.