Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology

This paper examines the relationship between workload, burnout and somatization in nurses. The respondents consisted of 1363 nurses employed in hospitals, which were undergoing extensive restructuring. Results of structural equation analyses showed that workload was positively related to emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion led to cynicism and somatization, and cynicism was negatively related to nurses' professional efficacy. Implications of the results for nursing practice are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.