The development of exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy in general upper secondary education: perceived and received support, student engagement, and gender as predictors

Abstract

This study contributes to understanding the long-term development of burnout dimensions across students in general upper secondary education and of support, engagement, and gender as factors that contribute to this development. The study followed Finnish academic track students (N = 210) over three years to examine the development of three burnout dimensions (exhaustion, cynicism, inadequacy) and the predictors of these dimensions using latent growth modeling. The findings revealed that cynicism and inadequacy increased, while exhaustion remained stable; moreover, the three dimensions were strongly interrelated. Perceived support negatively predicted initial burnout levels, affective engagement negatively affected exhaustion and inadequacy, and cognitive engagement negatively affected cynicism. Further, girls reported higher exhaustion and inadequacy than boys. The findings yielded new insight on the importance of perceived support as an antecedent of burnout–sufficient and continuous support can help to reduce and prevent burnout among these students.