[Emotional burn-out in official teachers, Medellin, Colombia, 2005].

OBJECTIVE

Exploring signs of emotional and physical weakness or Burnout syndrome in qualified teachers in Medellin, Colombia, 2005.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was applied to a random bi-stage sample of 239 teachers who filled in a questionnaire by themselves to explore demographic, work and social variables and dimensions of the Burnout syndrome, according to the Maslach Burnout Inventary (MBI).

RESULTS

The findings showed that 23.4% of the sample presented signs of Burnout and a further 23.4% were at risk of suffering it; emotional weakness and depersonalisation were present in both subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

A relationship between Burnout signs and some of the variables studied was found. It is suggested that personal, family and social variables potentially associated with the syndrome should be explored more deeply.