Individual Factors Predicting Academic Burnout in College Students Over Time

Abstract

Historically, the construct of burnout has been well-defined and thoroughly examined in the workplace and as it relates to job-stress and workplace demands and resources. Only recently has there been a movement in the field to study burnout as experienced in an academic setting by undergraduate students. In this thesis study 274 Princeton University undergraduate students completed a survey assessment of academic burnout with 222 of the participants completing the second follow-up assessment one month later. The survey included a measurement of burnout, stress, and depression and included a section for participant demographics and personal habits. It was found that levels of burnout were significantly positively correlated with levels of stress and depressive symptoms over time (p<0.001). It was also found that there was a significant relationship between the levels of burnout in individuals at the time of the first assessment and levels in individuals at the time of the second assessment (p<0.001). The effects of gender, race, major, and class year were also examined on each subscale of academic burnout over time. The implications of each of the findings are discussed.