Does punishment hurt? The impact of aversives on the clinician.

This paper explored the extent to which the use of mild versus strong aversives in programs for clients with autism affected the degree of job stress reported by direct care staff on the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The subjects included 56 staff from programs using only mild aversives and 60 staff from programs using strong aversives. Subjects anonymously completed the inventory and mailed it directly back to the researchers. The most significant finding was that direct care staff in facilities which permitted the use of strong aversives reported more intense feelings of personal accomplishment on the inventory than did subjects whose programs were limited to the use of mild aversives. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship among the personal use of strong aversives, number of years in the field, and the intensity of Personal Accomplishment. These findings suggest that allowing staff to use a wide range of interventions including strong aversives may diminish job stress and enhance one's sense of personal efficacy.