Investigating the Relationship between Academic Burnout, Resilience, and Spiritual Well-being among Medical Students

Considered one of the major problems encountered by students, academic burnout has garnered considerable attention from researchers in the educational system in recent years. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between academic burnout, resilience, and spiritual health among students of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023. The sample consists of 355 students from Shahroud University of Medical Sciences. A questionnaire was used to examine the relationship between academic burnout, resilience, and spiritual well-being among students. The collected data were then analyzed using the t-test, analysis of variance, and the Chi-square test. The association between endogenous and exogenous latent variables was done using the Structural Equation Model (SEM).

In this study, 252 students (71%) were female. In terms of major, the majority were medical students (142 /355 [40.0%]), and in terms of graduation level, the majority were undergraduates (212 /355 [59.7%]). The mean scores for spiritual well-being, resilience, and academic burnout were reported to be 82.84 ± 17.59, 101.12 ± 12.97, and 34.91 ± 15.87, respectively. The t-test results suggest a significant relationship between academic burnout, marital status, education level, family monthly income, faculty, and interest in the field of study. The results from the regression coefficients of the SEM analysis showed that an increase in the resilience score results in a lower academic burnout score (standardized β = -0.51). Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between two exogenous latent variables (spiritual well-being and resilience). There was no direct effect of spiritual well-being on academic burnout (standardized β = -0.1).

Spiritual well-being helps reduce burnout through resilience. Considering the positive association between spiritual well-being and resilience and the fact that resilience can help reduce academic burnout among students, careful identification and interventions based on resilience can emerge as a promising approach to tackling the harmful effects of academic burnout and improving student satisfaction.

Fostering a supportive educational environment, developing time management and organizational skills, and promoting self-care are the main strategies for improvement.