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Stress, social support and burnout were studied in 265 active acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) volunteers. Questionnaires were used to evaluate the impact that social support from agency staff and other volunteers had on the ability of volunteers working at the Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York City to deal with volunteering, the rewards they experienced, and their experience of burnout. The measures for perceived social support from staff and volunteers were positively skewed with scores for staff support being rated somewhat higher. When considering stressful events in the year prior to their volunteering, the incidence of severe negative events was fairly low for the total sample. When considering motivations to volunteer, the range of mean scores ran from a one indicating extremely unimportant to a seven meaning extremely important. The mean score of 5.87 was obtained for joining the AIDS cause as a motivation. The second highest motivational score was a 5.01 for the area of personal growth. Social contact rated 4.24, helping the gay family a 3.76, coping with AIDS a 3.65, and career enhancement a 3.58. Measures of stress outcome in the burnout section of the study could score from 0 to 36. The following items were cited: exhaustion, 5.09; depersonalization, 1.77; lack of boundaries, 6.32; and withdrawal, 3.86. Three rewards subscales were used in the study with a range of 0 to 30. They were ranked as new values with a mean score of 8.83; sense of efficacy, 18.25; and sense of community, 11.83.
AIDS Care, 8(2):195-206, 1996. (18 references)
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