Risk and protective factors of vulnerability to burnout and occupational health issues in university students: Is being excellent an advantage?

GRADE point average; INDUSTRIAL hygiene; JOB stress; ACADEMIC achievement; LOGISTIC regression analysis; MASLACH Burnout Inventory; ACHIEVEMENT; PSYCHOLOGICAL burnout

Little is known about whether being academically excellent matters when it comes to vulnerability to burnout and occupational health risks indicated by unhealthy patterns of dealing with work-related demand. The present study examined risk and protective factors of (un)healthy work-related coping behaviour and experience patterns assessed by the Arbeitsbezogenes Verhaltens- und Erlebensmuster inventory in 400 university students. A particular focus was given to the role of academic excellence conceptualised as a compound of educational excellence manifested in high academic achievement (operationalised through the grade point average and four other indicators) and personal excellence manifested in prosocial, moral, and self-reflective behaviour (operationalised through three specifically developed items). A multinomial logistic regression was performed to investigate the predictive values of background and excellence-related variables for assignment to distinct patterns. The central finding was a protective role of personal excellence against the resigned risk pattern B, indicating vulnerability to burnout. A similar protective effect had a personally important job, but not a job considered less important/temporal, suggesting that the protective role of the job status is mediated by the psychological value of the job itself rather than by the material benefits of having a job. In contrast, academic achievement or being considered excellent by teachers played no role in protecting individuals against burnout and occupational health risks. From the perspective of predicting a health-promoting approach in dealing with occupational stress, it appears that grades and academic success have little relevance and morality and virtuousness in a student are the most influential factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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