The bifactor model of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS)--an alternative measurement model of burnout.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the construct validity of the Hungarian language version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). A sample of 653 healthcare professionals (420 physicians and 233 nurses and nursing assistants) completed the MBI-HSS. A series of confirmatory factor analyses showed that a hierarchical bifactor model including a global burnout factor and three specific factors of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment had the closest fit to the data, compared with an alternative second-order three-factor hierarchical model as well as to non-hierarchical one-factor, two-factor, three-factor, four-factor and five-factor models. However, only the global burnout factor and the specific personal accomplishment factor explained a considerable unique proportion of variance in observed scores. Our study confirms the validity of the MBI-HSS and suggests an alternative structural model, which may contribute to further understanding of the burnout construct.