The Mediating Effect of Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy on the Relationship between Counselor Developmental Level and Burnout according to Educational Analysis Period

Objectives The present study aimed to investigate potential differences in the counselor developmental level perceived by counselors, burnout, and counselor activity self-efficacy depending on the educational analysis period, as well as to verify the mediating effect of counselor activity self-efficacy on the relationship between counselor developmental level and burnout. Methods A survey was conducted using the Korean Counselor Level Questionaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy Scale on 251 counselors whose main job is counseling at private counseling centers, public institutions, and universities. Based on the distribution of respondents regarding the duration of educational analysis, they were classified into three groups: less than 15 sessions, more than 15 to less than 50 sessions, and 50 sessions or more, labeled as low, medium, and high groups, respectively. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 and PROCESS macro 3.5 to verify the differences and mediating effects according to the group classification. Results First, differences were observed in the counselor development level and counselor activity self-efficacy according to the educational analysis period group classification. In particular, within the high group, the awareness subscale of the counselor development level was significantly higher, and statistically significant differences were observed across all subscales of counselor activity self-efficacy. Conversely, no statistically significant differences were found in counselor burnout according to the educational analysis period. Second, regarding the effect of perceived counselor development level on burnout, counselor activity self-efficacy was found to have a partial mediating effect. Furthermore, in the high group, counselor activity self-efficacy was found to have a full mediating effect on the impact of perceived counselor development level on burnout. Conclusions Based on these research findings, implications for counselor's training and education, as well as limitations of the study were suggested.