Exploring the student burnout scale using hungarian sample

Abstract

Background and goals: Due to the prevalence of burnout-syndrome, research on this phenomenon is becoming increasingly important. As a result, beside examining the burnout-syndrome among adults, it is also important to explore the problem in the schools. The aim of our research is exploring the structure of the Hungarian version of the Student Burnout Inventory (Salmela-Aro et al., 2008, 2009). Methods: The participants were Hungarian primary (N = 337) and secondary school students (N = 738), between the age 13 and 18 (M =15,3 years, SD= 2,01). We checked the structure of the questionnaire, the internal consistency and the connections between student burnout and other demographic and psychological factors. Results: According to the exploratory and the confirmatory factor analysis, the three-factor structure of the questionnaire is the same as the original, which consists of three subscales: emotional exhaustion, cynicism and sense of inadequacy. There was no difference between the the boys and the girls in the overall burnout score, and in the case of school-type the scores of primary and secondary school students differed only on the subscale of cynicism. The academic achievement correlated negatively with the burnout, as well as the self-esteem, school attachment and mastery-approach goal orientation. The avoidance goal orientation showed positive correlation with the overall burnout score. The hierarchical regression analysis established that the subscales of the Student Burnout Inventory and the dimensions of the goal orientation could predict the level of the self-esteem, with 50,3% of the explained variability. Conclusion: Based on the results, the Hungarian version of the Student Burnout Inventory with 8 items is appropriate for measuring student burnout, and for separating the symptoms of emotional exhaustion, cynism and sense of inadequacy. Based on the Cronbach-alfa indicators, the reliability of two of the sub-scales are only acceptable. Therefore we advise to use the questionnaire as a unidimensional scale. The questionnaire may be suitable for further exploratory research or can be an useful tool for school psychologist as well.