Self-esteem as a Protective Factor against Burnout in Students of Physiotherapy

Abstract

What variables are implicated in burnout appearance and maintenance among university students is one of the facts that has raised lately a greater attention in burnout investigation. In this context, our work assesses if students' self-esteem level causes meaningful differences in students' burnout. The sample comprised a total of 487 students selected among different Spanish universities of Physiotherapy, 354 women (72.68%) and 133 men (27.32%), aged between 18 and 47 years old (M = 21.28; SD = 4.32). We measure self-esteem by using Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale. Burnout was evaluated by using Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). One-way ANOVA was calculated in order to estimate statistical differences in students' burnout according to their level of self-esteem. Furthermore, Cohen's d was used in order to establish the effect sizes of those differences. Our results show that burnout syndrome appears when students' self-esteem is low. Nevertheless, higher levels of self-esteem show lower levels of emotionally exhaustion and despersonalization, and higher levels of personal accomplishment. In view that self-esteem works as a protector factor of burnout, we highlight that enhancing students' self esteem is one of the better ways to prevent this syndrome.