Exploring Self-Care and Its Associations with Burnout, Vitality, and Academic Goal Achievement in University Students

Abstract

Interest in self-care has risen in the past years with little direct research on the subject. This thesis sought to clarify the concrete behaviours that define self-care and the construct's potential impact on academic goal achievement. Three pilot studies (total n = 798) compiled a list of 12 self-care behaviours to represent the construct. Review of existing research suggest that these behaviours can impact physical and psychological well-being. A final study (n = 95) explored the effects of self-care in undergraduate students over a university semester. Results found that the frequency of self-care is associated with increased feelings of vitality, and is negatively correlated with feelings of burnout. Frequency of self-care did not predict academic goal achievement.

The effect of cognitive ability on academic achievement: The mediating role of self-discipline and the moderating role of planning

“…The moderating effect of planning was significant in the second half of the mediating effect. planning is an important component of an individual’s self-regulated learning strategy, and as a personality trait, it can stimulate factors such as an individual’s motivation to learn and the ability to self-regulate learning activities, thus facilitating the accomplishment of learning goals ( Cao and Cao, 2004 ), and students who perceive themselves as having a better command of time In addition, the stronger a student’s planning is, the better the student’s ability to manage time, which is a guarantee of high learning effectiveness and high academic achievement ( Wang, 2003 ).…”

“…Zhao (2017) found that self-discipline significantly predicted academic achievement in upper elementary school students. Wang (2003) designed his own self-discipline questionnaire and surveyed 885 middle to high school students in Shanghai and showed that self-discipline was a significant positive predictor of academic achievement. Many previous studies have shown a significant positive correlation between students’ self-discipline and academic achievement.…”

The Impact of Academic Pressure and Peer Support on Adolescents’ Loneliness: A Polynomial Regression and Response Surface Analysis

“…This study used the Academic Pressure Questionnaire developed by Wang et al 29 The questionnaire consists of 35 items covering four dimensions of academic pressure: academic performance pressure, setback pressure, external environmental pressure, and competitive pressure. The behavioral measurement frequency of the participants was scored on a 5-point Likert scale, with (0 = Never, 1 = Occasionally, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Often, and 4 = Always).…”