Effects of Academic Burnout on Self-Efficacy among University Students

Abstract

Academic burnout is an extended state of mental, physical, and emotional fatigue, which is usually coupled with low motivation, poor academic performance, and a negative attitude towards self and others. In comparison, self-efficacy refers to an individual's confidence in the capacity to perform tasks and accomplish goals, including an individual's belief in controlling the behavior, controlling the environment, and the capacity to remain motivated. The current research study thus took an observational approach to the connection that existed between academic burnout and self-efficacy among college students. One hundred (100) undergraduate (50 males and 50 females) participants aged between 18 to 25 years at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, volunteered to participate. Convenience sampling was used, and information regarding the demographic characteristics, including age, gender, education, residence, socioeconomic status, and academic performance (CGPA), was noted. Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (Maslach & Jackson, 1981) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) were used to evaluate academic burnout and self-efficacy, respectively. The analysis of the data was done using the Pearson correlation coefficient to examine the relationship between the variables and using an independent samples t-test to compare the difference between genders through the use of SPSS Version 22. The findings demonstrated that there is a significant negative correlation between academic burnout and self-efficacy (r = -0.490), emotional exhaustion and self-efficacy (r = -0.536), and cynicism and self-efficacy (r = -0.256), and a significant positive correlation between academic efficacy and self-efficacy (r = 0.455). Moreover, the results showed that there was insignificant gender variation in academic burnout (t = 0.206) and self-efficacy (t = -2.028). All these findings imply that the higher the academic burnout, the more the students lose confidence in their academic abilities, thus the need to implement psychological interventions to enhance the well-being and self-efficacy of students