Burnout, does the university entrance test failing attribute? A Bangladeshi exploratory study

Abstract

Getting admission into a university is highly competitive globally and can be regarded as a mental stressor for some individuals. In Bangladesh, most of the universities allow students to repeat the test, whereas repeat test-taking students are supposed to suffer from psychological issues like burnout because of academic non-achievement in their first attempt. But there is no prior study assessing burnout to the population, which was investigated herein. A cross-sectional study was carried out among a total of 911 Bangladeshi university entrance test-taking students (i.e., 49.5% first-time test-takers). The survey measures included socio-demographics, admission-related issues, and mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and burnout). Of the mental health problems, depression, anxiety, and burnout were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7), and Maslach Burnout Inventory—Student Survey (MBI–SS), respectively. In light of two-dimensional and three-dimensional cutoff schemes of the MBI—SS, about 43.7% and 17.3% of the test-taking students, respectively, were classified to be burnout in the total sample. Additionally, 48.1%, 71.4%, and 49.1% of the students in the total sample reported higher emotional exhaustion, higher cynicism, and lower academic efficacy, respectively. In respect to the student status, two-dimensional burnout (48.0% vs. 39.2%; χ2 = 7.164, p = 0.007), and emotional exhaustion (52.2% vs. 43.9%, χ2 = 6.789, p = 0.034) were significantly higher among the repeat test-taking students. Satisfaction with previous mock tests, depression, and anxiety were the associated factors of burnout in all three samples. Based on the present study, it can be concluded that the university entrance test appearing students are highly prevalent to burnout, and the rate increases with academic non-achievement. As the first study assessing burnout to the population, the findings are anticipated to be helpful for policymaking and further studies both inside and outside Bangladesh.

Prevalence and factors associated with suicidal ideation among students taking university entrance tests: revisited and a study based on Geographic Information System data

“…The previous study among test-taking students revealed Suicidal ideation among students taking university entrance tests that female students had a twofold higher risk of suicidal ideation. 8 However, in the present study, no significant difference was found between gender and suicidal ideation. This unexpected result could be attributed to several unknown factors.…”

“…Reports indicate that many Bangladeshi students presenting for university entrance tests experience mental health problems, with approximately 47.9 and 28.9% reporting depression and anxiety, respectively, and 43.7% exhibiting symptoms of burnout. 3,8 Considering the strong association between mental health problems and suicidality, 4,9 it is unsurprising that students taking university entrance tests are at a higher risk of suicidal behaviour. In fact, 17.7% of these students reported suicidal ideation in a previous study, and 8.0 and 2.5% reported having made suicide plans and attempts, respectively.…”

Prevalence and factors associated with digital addiction among students taking university entrance tests: a GIS-based study

“…This is not a surprising finding as Bangladeshi students have to pass a very competitive entrance exam for the public university, whereas around 55,000 seats are available for nearly a million high school graduates [ 13 , 14 ], and the nature of different syllabuses aligning with different faculties or institutes (e.g., medical college, agricultural universities, etc. ), also make them vulnerable to suffering from psychological stress and burnout related symptoms [ 12 , 15 ]. Previously, it has been reported that burnout mediates the relationship between interpersonal stress and internet addiction [ 16 ].…”

Mental health issues among medical students: Exploring predictors of mental health in Dhaka during COVID-19 pandemic

“…Before joining M.B.B.S. course, medical students already have to deal with a stressful entrance exam [4]. After joining the M.B.B.S.…”