School Burnout Inventory (SBI)

TLDR

School-related burnout comprises three dimensions: exhaustion at school, cynicism toward the meaning of school, and sense of inadequacy at school. This study introduces a measure for school burnout and examines its validity and reliability among students in upper secondary high schools and vocational schools by using confirmatory factor analysis. A total of 1,418 adolescents from 13 postcomprehensive schools filled in a questionnaire concerning their school burnout and background variables, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the measure. The three-factor solution fit the data best and gave the best reliability indices; the three dimensions were closely related but separate constructs; and concurrent validity was found as depressive symptoms correlated positively with all three dimensions, while lower academic achievement and school engagement correlated with higher cynicism and inadequacy.

Abstract

This study introduces a measure for school burnout and examines its validity and reliability among students in upper secondary high schools and vocational schools by using confirmatory factor analysis. School-related burnout comprises three dimensions: (a) exhaustion at school, (b) cynicism toward the meaning of school, and (c) sense of inadequacy at school. A total of 1418 (709 girls, 709 boys) adolescents from 13 postcomprehensive schools (6 upper secondary high schools, 7 vocational schools) filled in a questionnaire concerning their school burnout and background variables. The results showed that the three-factor solution, compared to one- or two-factor solutions, fit the data best and also gave the best reliability indices. The three theoretically-derived dimensions of school burnout were closely related but separate constructs. Finally, concurrent validity for the School-Burnout Inventory (SBI) was found when the correlations of depressive symptoms, school engagement, and academic achievement with each of the three dimensions of school burnout were examined: The more depressive symptoms adolescents suffered, the more exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy they reported; and the lower their academic achievement and school engagement, the more cynicism and inadequacy they reported.