This study investigated the influence of marital status on self-report of symptoms of psychological burnout among nurses. Ninety-one female nurses comprising 51 married nurses and 40 widowed nurses drawn from seven hospital units of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu participated in the study. They were individually administered the Nigerian adaptation of Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) (Ugwu, 1998) originally developed by Maslach and Jackson (1981). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the data to test the first research question of the study. In addition, a separate one-way analysis of variance and the Duncan Multiple Range Test were performed to test the second research question. Results showed that the widowed nurses reported significantly higher burn-out symptoms than the married nurses (p < .001). The analysis of variance also indicated significant differences among the hospital units on the mean burnout symptoms reported by the nursing staff (p < .001). Results of the Duncan Multiple Range Test revealed that nurses on the theatre unit had a mean burnout symptoms score that was significantly higher than nurses on the postnatal, casualty, labor, surgical and out-patient units. Nurses on the intensive care unit (ICU) had a mean burnout symptom score that was significantly higher than nurses on the postnatal unit. The results were explained within the framework of the protection/support hypothesis (Adler, 1953). It was suggested that the nursing staff should adopt adequate self-care measures such as having enough rest, vacation, and exercise to reduce the potential for burnout.
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