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.

No abstract

The demands-resources model can usefully be applied to the school context, including the associations between school-related burnout and engagement among adolescents. The model comprises two processes, the energy-depleting process and the motivational process.