Abstract
This study aimed to analyze and compare students’ school burnout levels in Switzerland and Italy. Previous research has confirmed that female and older students in particular are highly exposed to burnout risk. Nevertheless, few studies have observed this phenomenon through a cross-national comparison. Data on burnout were collected from a sample of 840 adolescents (Italian students = 497; Swiss students = 343) (Mage = 14.98; SD = 1.06; Female = 50%). Burnout was measured using the School Burnout Inventory, and cross-cultural measurement invariance was tested. The results showed that this burnout measure was equivalent between the Italian and Swiss samples. A multivariate analysis of variance was next conducted to investigate the effects of age, gender, and nationality. Results partially confirmed our hypotheses, showing the effect of age but not of gender in explaining burnout differences among students, and between and within-group variance. In particular, the burnout risk was found to be higher in late adolescence (age 16 to 18, Mexhaution = 2.73; Mcynicism = 2.99; MInadequacy = 3.14) than in mid-adolescence (age 13 to 15 Mexhaution = 2.95; Mcynicism = 3.43; MInadequacy = 3.54). Furthermore, Italian adolescents were more exhausted and cynical (Mexhaution = 2.99; Mcynicism = 3.26) than their Swiss peers (Mexhaution = 2.52; Mcynicism = 2.93) when controlling for age and gender. Findings suggest further investigation of the role played by educational and cultural values may be warranted.
Highlights
Students’ school burnout is a comprehensive scientific framework to interpret students’attitudes toward their school life affecting their achievement and later academic career.Scholars agree with the well-known model describing students’ burnout through three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and sense of inadequacy [1,2]
We considered the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and the comparative fit indices (CFI)
The current study addressed school burnout differences in Swiss and Italian adolescent groups
Summary
Students’ school burnout is a comprehensive scientific framework to interpret students’attitudes toward their school life affecting their achievement and later academic career.Scholars agree with the well-known model describing students’ burnout through three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and sense of inadequacy [1,2]. Without support to face school-related tasks, they may express maladaptive behaviors (e.g., absenteeism, bad grades, aggressive behaviors), with severe consequences for their future health [3,4,5,6]. The imbalance between demand (e.g., by family and school) and internal and external resources (e.g., psychological characteristics and social support) may lead to a high burnout risk [7,8,9]. Personal resources, such as empathy, self-efficacy, resilience, and emotional intelligence, may significantly reduce burnout risk [10,11,12,13]
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