The Roles of Empathy, Attachment Style, and Burnout in Pharmacy Students’ Academic Satisfaction

Abstract

Objective. To investigate empathy, burnout, and attachment style, and explore the relationships between these variables and academic satisfaction in a group of pharmacy students. Methods. Students enrolled in the first two years (n=200) and last two years (n=210) of a five-year master's degree program in pharmaceutical sciences were invited to participate. The data collected included sociodemographic characteristics; responses on the Portuguese version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to assess empathy levels; responses on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to measure emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment; responses on the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS) to evaluate students' attachment style; and responses on an original academic satisfaction scale. Results. Although students in both groups had similar levels of empathy, female students had significantly higher scores in the IRI subscales and in emotional exhaustion. Students in the last two years of the program had significantly higher depersonalization scores. The majority of students reported that they were satisfied with the quality of their academic experience, however, the satisfaction scores of students enrolled in their first two years were significantly higher. Attachment styles explained 14% of all students' depersonalization and academic satisfaction scores (11%). Burnout explained 39% of all students' academic dissatisfaction. Conclusion. Although a majority of pharmacy students were satisfied with their academic life, burnout negatively influenced the academic satisfaction of some students completing the final years of their education. The type of interpersonal relationship students have influences their ability to understand patients and the quality of their learning experience. A large percentage of students indicated they had a significant level of burnout, which underscores the need to provide preventive and restorative interventions for these students.