The Relationship between Meeting Vigorous Physical Activity Recommendations and Burnout

Symptoms among Adolescents: An Exploratory Study with Vocational Students

Catherine Elliot, Christin Lang, Serge Brand, Edith Holsboer-Trachsler,

Uwe Pühse and Markus Gerber

University of Basel

Article accepted in: Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

Author note

Catherine Elliot, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel; Christin

Lang, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel; Serge Brand, Center for

Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel and

Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel; Edith Holsboer-Trachsler, Center

for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel; Uwe

Pühse, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel; Markus Gerber,

Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel

This work was supported by Health Promotion Switzerland under Grant IP18.15. We

thank Werner Roggenkemper, principal of the vocational school Rapperswil, Michi Matt and

Mischa Stillhart, physical education teachers at Rapperswil.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Markus Gerber, Department of

Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel. E-mail: markus.gerber@unibas.ch, 0041 61 377

87 83 (phone), 0041 61 377 87 89 (fax).

ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 1

Abstract

This study examines how students who met the current recommendations for vigorous physical

activity (VPA) of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Centers of Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC) differ from peers who did not reach these standards with regard to

self-reported burnout, before and after controlling for light physical activity and moderate physical

activity. A sample of 144 vocational students (Mage =16.2 years, SD = 1.13, 98 males) completed

the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure, and the

School Burnout Inventory. Bivariate correlations revealed that only VPA was associated with

reduced burnout. Both the ACSM and CDC guidelines were useful to identify significant

differences in burnout symptoms between students who met versus did not meet the standards.

Health policy makers should develop strategies to integrate more VPA in the lives of adolescent

students so as to reach a minimum of 60 minutes per week.

Keywords: adolescents, exercise, light and moderate physical activity, school, stress

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 2

The Relationship between Meeting Vigorous Physical Activity Recommendations and Burnout

Symptoms: An Exploratory Study with Vocational Students

Since the mid-1990s, the positive health effects of regular physical activity (PA) are well

documented in the scientific literature (US Department of Health and Human Services, 1996).

Epidemiological studies show that regular PA is associated with a multitude of protective health

effects including cardiorespiratory, metabolic, musculoskeletal and functional health in addition to

a reduced risk for several types of cancer (Kohl & Murray, 2012). Studies further elucidate that

regular PA is linked to enhanced mental health, whereby physically active individuals are less

likely to develop depressive or other poor mental health symptoms (Larun, Nordheim, Ekeland,

Hagen, & Heian, 2006).

Recently, researchers have been examining the association between PA and burnout

(Ahola et al., 2012; Lindwall, Gerber, Jonsdottir, Börjesson, & Ahlborg, 2014; Lindwall, Ljung,

Hadzibajramovic, & Jonsdottir, 2012; Toker & Biron, 2012). Occupational burnout is a complex

measure with over 35 years of empirical evidence. Operationally, burnout is primarily a work-

related syndrome that develops gradually as a result of prolonged exposure to chronic emotional

and interpersonal job stress (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001). Burnout is a multidimensional

construct characterized by emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, and cognitive weariness

(Melamed, Kushnir, & Shirom, 1992). There has been a considerable rise in burnout-related

compensation claims from several advanced economies (Toppinen-Tanner, Ojajärvi, Väänänen,

Kalimo, & Jäppinen, 2005), thus emphasis on burnout as a mental health outcome is justified.

Moreover, epidemiologic studies indicate that symptoms of burnout are common among adult

workers (e.g. Ahola et al., 2012; Norlund et al., 2010) and that burnout is associated with reduced

work productivity (Cropanzano, Rupp, & Byrne, 2003), and with severe physical and mental

health impairments (Shirom, Melamed, Toker, Berliner, & Shapira, 2005). Finally, studies

highlight that burnout symptoms have a high temporal stability (e.g. Toppinen-Tanner, Kalimo, &

Mutanen, 2002), which underscores the grave importance of preventive measures.

The existing studies suggest that regular PA has the potential to protect against symptoms

of burnout among adult workers (Ahola et al., 2012; Lindwall et al., 2014; Lindwall et al., 2012;

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 3

Toker & Biron, 2012). For instance, Ahola et al. (2012) found that burnout syndrome was related

to low PA in a population-based sample. Additionally, Lindwall et al. (2012) showed that

employees who engage in light physical activity (LPA) and moderate physical activity (MPA)

were less likely to self-report clinical levels of burnout than physically inactive counterparts.

Toker and Biron (2012) further observed small, but significant negative correlations between self-

reported levels of PA and burnout in a study with over 1600 participants. Finally, Lindwall et al.

(2014) demonstrated in another large-scale study that changes in PA were moderately to strongly

associated with changes in burnout. Over a six-year period, burnout levels decreased in

participants who increased their PA levels, and vice versa.

Given the potential health benefits of physically active lifestyles (Woolcott, Ashe, Miller,

Shi, & Marra, 2010), several institutions have presented basic PA recommendations in nations

across the globe. For instance, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends

that adults should obtain a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week,

which can be met through 30-60 min of moderate-intensity exercise on at least five days per week.

Alternatively, recommended levels of PA can be reached through 20-60 minutes of vigorous-

intensity exercise on at least three days per week (Haskell et al., 2007). Furthermore, the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posit that for important health benefits, adults need at

least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. Alternatively, the CDC holds

that (a) important health benefits can be obtained via 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic

activity per week, and that (b) even greater health benefits can be achieved with 300 minutes of

moderate-intensity or 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week (see

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/ adults.html).

While these public health standards initially targeted physical health outcomes (e.g.

cardiovascular diseases, mortality) (Pate et al., 1995), subsequent studies have shown that these

standards are also pertinent to mental health outcomes (Dunn, Trivedi, Kampert, Clark, &

Chambliss, 2005; Rosenbaum, Tiedemann, Sherrington, Curtis, & Ward, 2014). Nevertheless,

studies establishing a link between these standards and participants’ levels of burnout are scarce.

To the best of our knowledge, only one such study exists. Namely, in a small sample of

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 4

vocational students, Gerber, Lang, et al. (2014) discovered that adolescents scoring above the

ACSM moderate-to-vigorous PA recommendations reported lower scores for overall

occupational burnout, physical fatigue, and cognitive weariness.

Furthermore, while the initial recommendations focused on MPA, they were later revised

in order to explicitly incorporate vigorous physical activity (VPA), which was implicit in the

earlier versions. This is warranted given the abundance of scientific support that VPA may

provide greater cardiorespiratory and health benefits than MPA (Pavey, Peeters, Bauman, &

Brown, 2013; Swain & Franklin, 2006) due to its effectiveness in increasing aerobic fitness

compared to MPA (Åstrand, Rodahl, Dahl, & Strømme, 2003) and because energy expenditure is

higher for VPA than MPA (Ainsworth et al., 2000). Several studies support this notion for

mortality and cardiorespiratory indicators (Manson et al., 2002). For example, Lee and

Paffenbarger (2000) found in a 15-year longitudinal study with 13,485 middle-aged men that

VPA (≥ 6 METs) clearly predicted lower mortality, whereas LPA (<4 METs) did not result in

reduced mortality rates. Similar findings were observed in younger populations. In a 24-year

longitudinal study, individuals with the highest arterial stiffness scores engaged in significantly

less VPA during adolescence and young adulthood, whereas no significant effects were found

for light-to-moderate PA (van de Laar et al., 2010).

Comparatively, evidence is scarce regarding the potential of VPA to protect against

mental health symptoms, and no burnout-specific studies exist as of yet. Several investigations of

adolescents and young adults highlighted that those who accomplish the recommended levels of

VPA are more likely to report better mental health compared to peers who do not reach the VPA

standards (e.g. Allison et al., 2005; Harbour, Behrens, Kim, & Kitchens, 2008). Analyses

controlling for LPA and MPA, however, are limited although evidence is present that (a) low to

moderate correlations exist between LPA, MPA and VPA (e.g. De Cocker et al., 2009) and (b)

both LPA and MPA are associated with reduced burnout symptoms (e.g. Lindwall et al., 2012).

Nevertheless, Gerber, Brand, et al. (2014) recently showed that the positive effects of VPA

remain evident even after controlling for MPA. Specifically, these authors found that students

who met the ACSM recommendations for VPA (assessed via accelerometer) reported reduced

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 5

stress, lower pain and better subjective and objective sleep. Moreover, they demonstrated that

VPA has the capacity to protect against pain and sleep complaints especially among young

people self-reporting high stress levels.

In summary, research with large and diverse study populations found that participation in

VPA has at least similar, if not, stronger association to both physical and mental health indicators,

when compared to the associations of LPA or MPA. None of the previous studies has used

burnout as a specific mental health outcome. Furthermore, although these findings support the

potential of vigorous-intensity aerobic activities, some methodological limitations warn against an

overgeneralization of the existing findings. First, few studies have applied validated instruments to

assess self-reported levels of PA. Second, several studies have omitted reference to internationally

accepted PA recommendations and thus, have merely established arbitrary benchmarks to

distinguish sufficient versus insufficient levels of VPA. Third, none of the previous studies has

compared different PA recommendations with the intent to explain variance in health outcomes.

Fourth, few studies have statistically controlled for light or moderate-intensity aerobic activities

when assessing both VPA and health, particularly in studies with young people focusing on

mental health outcomes.

After identifying these shortcomings in the extant literature, the purpose of the present

exploratory study was to determine how LPA, MPA and VPA are associated with burnout

symptoms in Swiss vocational students. Furthermore, the study aims at examining how students

who meet the current ACSM and CDC recommendations for VPA differ from peers who do not

achieve these standards with regard to their self-reported levels of burnout, both before and after

controlling for LPA and MPA. The current investigation was executed with vocational students

because in Switzerland vocational education and training (VET) serves as the primary

occupational gateway. According to the 2009-2010 data of the Federal Office of Statistics

(www.bfs.admin.ch), 68% of all Swiss secondary level students attended a two-, three- or four-

year VET program. From an organizational perspective, VET is based on a dual educational

model (www.bbt.admin.ch). Concretely, vocational students in Switzerland carry a dual burden of

work and school, working 3-4 days per week and attending vocational school 1-2 days per week.

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 6

While VET apprentices receive a limited salary for their work, they often have similar work

schedules and responsibilities as adult employees (Tagesanzeiger, 2008). Moreover, although

burnout was most frequently investigated among adult workers, burnout symptoms have also been

observed among younger populations (Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, Leskinen, & Nurmi, 2009; Schaufeli,

Martinez, Marques Pinto, Salanova, & Bakker, 2002). Most burnout studies with younger people

place a focus on college students (e.g. Dahlin & Runeson, 2007; Dyrbye et al., 2008). However,

the concept of burnout can be adapted further to include adolescent students (Kiuru, Aunola,

Nurmi, Leskinen, & Salmela-Aro, 2008) if both the workload and academic pressure to succeed

are considered. Finnish researchers revealed that school burnout is associated with depressive

symptoms, low school engagement and low academic achievement (Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, et al.,

2009). Likewise, school burnout prospectively predicts depressive symptoms among academic

high school and vocational school students (Salmela-Aro, Savolainen, & Holopainen, 2009). Over

time, low levels of school-burnout were associated with a delay in studies and low educational

aspirations. Finally, prior research also showed that women and girls generally report more

occupational and school burnout than men and boys (e.g. Norlund et al., 2010; Salmela-Aro,

Savolainen, et al., 2009; Salmela-Aro & Tynkkynen, 2012).

Several hypotheses are tested in the present study. First, we expected low to moderate

correlations between LPA, MPA and VPA (Hypothesis 1), as previously reported by De Cocker et

al. (2009). Second, because occupational and school burnout are conceptually related constructs,

we expected moderate to strong correlations between the two burnout measures (Hypothesis 2).

Third, we expected that LPA (Hypothesis 3a), MPA (Hypothesis 3b), and VPA (Hypothesis 3c)

are negatively correlated with burnout (Ahola et al., 2012; Gerber, Jonsdottir, Lindwall, &

Ahlborg, 2014; Lindwall et al., 2012; Toker & Biron, 2012). Fourth, we hypothesized that

adolescents who meet the current VPA recommendations report lower burnout levels compared to

peers who do not meet these criteria (Gerber, Brand, et al., 2014). Specifically, two different

standards will be compared: (a) ACSM standards: ≥ 20 min on ≥ 3 days/week; (b) CDC standard:

≥ 75 min/week (basic health benefits), ≥ 150 min/week (even greater health benefits). Fifth, we

expected that significant differences found in Hypothesis 4a and 4b would be maintained after

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 7

controlling for LPA and MPA (Hypothesis 5), as previously observed for physical health

outcomes (van de Laar et al., 2010).

Methods

Participants and Procedures

Participants were selected from a vocational school in the eastern part of Switzerland. In

total, the sample comprised 144 first-year VET students (Mage =16.22 years, SD = 1.13, 97

males, 47 females). At this school, occupational training was offered for polytechnicians, retail

assistants, industrial clerks, structural draftsmen and hairdressers. All participants completed the

questionnaires during class in the presence of a trained research assistant. Participants received

detailed information about the purpose of the study and the opportunity for voluntary

participation. Interested participants provided informed written consent, and were assured

confidentiality of their responses prior to completing the questionnaire. Parental informed

consent was required for participants under the age of 18 at the time of data collection. All

participants completed the questionnaires in approximately 20-30 minutes. The study protocol

received clearance by the local ethical committee and adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki

ethical standards.

Measures

Physical activity. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire

(Craig et al., 2003) was applied to assess self-reported PA. Ottevaere et al. (2011) revealed that the

IPAQ can sufficiently predict cardiorespiratory fitness among adolescents, equivalent to that of

accelerometry. Moreover, previous research has shown that using relatively simple items to

measure VPA provides accurate results (e.g. Galper, Trivedi, Barlow, Dunn, & Kampert, 2006).

Participants answered, “On how many days did you engage in (a) VPA (e.g., heavy lifting, soccer,

handball, aerobics, jogging or fast bicycling), (b) MPA (e.g., carrying light loads, dancing, table

tennis, playing Frisbee, bicycling at a regular pace, or doubles tennis), and (c) LPA (walking at

work, at home, to travel from place to place, and any other walking for recreation, sport, exercise

or leisure) in the previous week”. For each type of activity, responses ranged from 0 to 7 days. For

each day an activity was reported, participants indicated an average daily duration. Thus, a

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 8

frequency variable was calculated by multiplying the total duration (minutes) of weekly PA for

each activity type. In accordance with the IPAQ guidelines for data processing and assessment,

any PA which exceeded a duration of 180 minutes per day was limited to 180 minutes

(see: www.ipaq.ki.se/scoring.pdf, section 5.2). Thus, an aggregate of 1260 minutes per week was

the maximum possible value for each PA.

Burnout. Due to the dual education model, Swiss VET students work 3-4 days per week in

the company and 1-2 days per week at school. Given this background, two burnout questionnaires

were included in the present study; both equally salient to VET students. Hereof, one instruments

was specifically developed for adult workers and focuses on occupational burnout, while the other

instrument was designed for adolescent populations focusing on school burnout.

Occupational burnout. The 14-item Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM) was

used to assess occupational burnout (Lerman et al., 1999). The SMBM is a valid and reliable

questionnaire used to measure work-related burnout (Lundgren-Nilsson, Jonsdottir, Pallant, &

Ahlborg, 2012). The validity and reliability of the SMBM has been established previously

(Lundgren-Nilsson et al., 2014). Specifically, it comprises three dimensions; physical fatigue (six

items; e.g., “I feel tired”), cognitive weariness (five items; e.g., “I have difficulty thinking about

complex things”), and emotional exhaustion (three items; e.g., “I am unable to invest emotions in

my colleagues at work”). Items were scored on a 7-point Likert-scale, ranging from 1 (never or

almost never) to 7 (almost always or always). Mean scores were calculated for each construct and

then summed to create a burnout sum score. To categorize the means, the following pre-

established interpretations were applied to the SMBM scores: ≥ 2.75 = mild burnout, ≥ 3.75 =

high burnout and ≥ 4.40 = clinically relevant burnout (Grossi, Perski, Evengard, Blomkvist, &

Orth-Gomer, 2003; Lundgren-Nilsson, Jonsdottir, Pallant, & Ahlborg, 2012). For instance,

Lundgren-Nilsson et al. (2012) found that 83.4% of a clinical sample were above the cut-off,

whereas 86.5% of the general population sample were below the cut-off. Confirmatory factor

analyses provided support for the factorial validity of the SMBM in this sample of vocational

students (see supplementary online material). The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) of the

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 9

overall SMBM and the SMBM subscales was satisfactory (≥ .70) according to Nunnally’s and

Bernstein’s (1994) standards (Table 1).

School burnout. Symptoms of school burnout were assessed with the School Burnout

Inventory (SBI) (Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, et al., 2009), which was found to be a valid and reliable

instrument in previous research (Aypay, 2011). Specifically, the SBI measured exhaustion at

school (4 items; e.g., “I feel overwhelmed by my schoolwork”), cynicism towards the meaning of

school (3 items; e.g., “I feel a loss of interest in my schoolwork”) and feeling a sense of

inadequacy at school (2 items; e.g., “I used to have higher expectations for my schoolwork than I

have now”). Using a 6-point Likert-scale, response options ranged from 1 (completely disagree) to

6 (completely agree). The SBI also showed criterion validity with the Academic Expectations

Stress Inventory (Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, et al., 2009), deeming it appropriate for this study.

Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the factorial validity of the SMBM in the

present sample of vocational students (see supplementary online material), although the internal

consistency of the SBI inadequacy subscale seems less than optimal (Table 1).

Demographics. Information about students’ social and demographic background was

collected in the first section of the questionnaire. Students reported their gender, age and the

financial situation of their family (as compared to peers) on a 5-point scale from 1 (much worse)

to 5 (much better).

Statistical analyses

To test Hypotheses 1 through 3, Pearson’s correlations were calculated. Correlations were

interpreted following Cohen’s (1988) criteria (e.g., small = <.30; medium = .30 to .49; large =

>.50). Hypothesis 4a and 4b were tested with univariate analyses of covariance (ANCOVA).

Hypothesis 4a compared students who were at or above the ACSM standard for VPA against

peers who were below the standard (using gender, age and financial situation as covariates). These

variables proved to be associated with PA and burnout in previous studies (De Cocker et al., 2009;

Gerber, Lang, et al., 2014; Michaud, Jeannin, & Suris, 2006; Norlund et al., 2010). Hypothesis 4b

repeated this measurement using the VPA standards from the CDC. These analyses were further

repeated to test Hypothesis 5, whereby LPA and MPA were held constant. Finally, students were

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 10

split according to whether they met or did not meet the PA recommendations and then chi2–tests

(χ2) were performed to examine whether students with clinically relevant burnout levels (overall

SMBM scores ≥ 4.40) were equally distributed. An alpha level of .05 was used for all analyses.

Effect sizes for ANCOVAs (partial eta-squared [η2]) were considered as follows: small = .01 > η2

< .059, medium = .06 > η2 < .139, or large = η2 ≥ .14 (Cohen, 1994).

Results

Descriptive statistics

Table 1 provides the descriptive statistics for all study variables. On average, students self-

reported approximately 5 hours of LPA, 2 hours of MPA and 4 hours of VPA per week. Based on

the SMBM overall scores, 47 students (32.6%) reported mild burnout, 23 students (16.0%)

reported strong burnout (≥ 3.75) and 10 students (6.9%) reported clinically relevant burnout levels

(≥ 4.40).

Bivariate correlations between types of physical activity and burnout symptoms

Table 2 shows that LPA, MPA and VPA were not correlated with each other. Thus,

Hypothesis 1 was not supported. In contrast, positive correlations were observed between the

SMBM and the SBI scales. While a large correlation existed between the two overall burnout

indices (r = .69, p < .001), small to large correlations were found between the subscales of the

SMBM and the SBI (r = .26 to .61, p < .01). Thus, Hypothesis 2 was empirically supported in the

present sample. Furthermore, the direction and strength of the relationships revealed that the

overall indices and the subscales of the two instruments remain divergent enough to qualify as

separate outcomes. Finally, LPA and MPA were not correlated with any of the burnout measures,

whereas small but significant negative correlations were found between VPA and five of eight

burnout indices. Thus, partial support was observed for Hypothesis 3. Distinctly, increased levels

of VP were associated with fewer burnout symptoms (Hypothesis 3c), whereas relationships were

found neither for LPA (Hypothesis 3a) nor for MPA (Hypothesis 3b).

Differences between students who meet versus do not meet recommended levels of VPA

ACSM standards. In total, 53% (n = 76) of the students met the ACSM’s VPA standards

(≥20 min on ≥ 3 days/week). Compared to girls (38%, n = 18), male students (60%, n = 58) were
 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 11

overrepresented in this group (χ2[1,144] = 5.87, p < .05, φ = .20). No significant between-group

differences existed with regard to age, financial situation, LPA or MPA (p > .05). Expectedly,

students who met the ACSM standards reported significantly higher levels of VPA than peers who

did not (met standards: M = 338.50 min/week, SD = 137.82; did not meet standards: M = 125.51

min/week, SD = 93.01, F[1,143] = 115.35, p < .001, η2 = .448).

Table 3 shows that students who reached the ACSM standards for VPA scored

significantly less on perceived exhaustion at school. Male and female students scored similarly on

all SMBM and SBI measures (p > .05). Moreover, age and financial situation were not

significantly correlated with any of the SMBM and SBI scales. Even after controlling for LPA and

MPA, the significant difference of perceived exhaustion was maintained. No significant between-

group differences were observed in the other burnout indicators. Interestingly, of the 76 students

who met the ACSM VPA recommendations only 2 (3%) recorded clinically relevant burnout

scores (SMBM ≥ 4.40). On the contrary, 12% (n = 8 of 68) of the students who did not reach the

ACSM VPA recommendations reached clinically relevant burnout levels (χ2[1,144] = 4.63, p <

.05, φ = .18).

CDC standards. The measurement of the CDC VPA standards occurred at three levels,

namely, “not meeting the CDC VPA recommendations”, “meeting the CDC VPA

recommendations with basic health benefits” and “meeting the CDC VPA recommendations with

even greater health benefits”. A total of 83% of students accomplished the CDC VPA standards (n

= 119). Hereof, 19% achieved the recommended PA “to achieve basic health benefits” (n = 28; ≥

75 min/week) and 63% accomplished the recommended PA “to achieve even greater health

benefits” (n = 91; ≥ 150 min/week). Regarding gender differences, 17% of males (n = 16) and

19% of females (n = 9) scored below the CDC VPA standards. Slightly more boys reached the

“greater health benefits” category (69%, n = 67; χ2[1,144] = 5.59, p < .07, φ = .19) in comparison

to girls (51%, n = 24). No significant differences existed between the three groups with regard to

participant age, financial situation, LPA and MPA. Students who accomplished the VPA levels

with basic health benefits and greater health benefits had significantly higher VPA levels than

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 12

peers who scored below the recommendations (did not meet the standards: M = 36.60 min/week,

SD = 29.40; met the standards for basic health benefits: M = 117.64 min/week, SD = 17.76, met

the standards for greater health benefits: M = 330.24 min/week, SD = 125.12, F[2,143] = 107,54, p

< .001, η2 = .604).

Table 4 shows that students who did not reach the minimal CDC VPA recommendations

reported significantly higher overall occupational burnout, physical fatigue and overall school

burnout than those meeting the standards. In a similar fashion, two non-significant trends

emerged, whereby higher levels of cognitive weariness and cynicism towards the meaning of

school were associated more with students not meeting the standards. Bonferroni post-hoc tests

demonstrated that students in the categories “met the recommendations with basic health benefits”

and “with even greater benefits” did not significantly differ from each other on any of the burnout

indicators (p > .05). Although no significant differences were found for emotional exhaustion,

upon closer inspection of the effect sizes, higher scores in emotional exhaustion at work and at

school appeared to be present among students who did not meet the CDC standards compared to

their more active counterparts. Finally, 20% (n = 5 of 25) of students who did not meet the basic

VPA recommendations also reported clinically relevant burnout (SMBM ≥ 4.40). Of those who

met the basic standards, only 11% (n = 3 of 28) reported clinically relevant burnout, whereas only

2% (n = 2 of 91) of the students with even greater health benefits also reported clinically relevant

burnout (χ2[1,144] = 10.38, p < .01, φ = .26).

In summary, Hypothesis 4 and 5 were partly supported. Students meeting the ACSM

recommendations reported lower exhaustion at school and were underrepresented among students

with clinically relevant SMBM scores. The CDC standards successfully discriminated between

students with elevated overall occupational and school burnout scores and physical fatigue. A

clear gradient was found, in that the highest portion of students with clinically relevant SMBM

scores was found in students not meeting the basic recommendations, followed by those meeting

the basic standards and finally those reaching the standards for even greater health benefits.

Moreover, the main effects of VPA remained significant after controlling for LPA and MPA.

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 13

Discussion

This investigation examined how LPA, MPA and VPA are associated with symptoms of

burnout at work and at school among adolescents in VET. This study explored whether

adolescents who accomplish the current ACSM and CDC recommendations for VPA differ with

regard to self-reported burnout. Five findings deserve special emphasis. First, generally high

levels of burnout existed in the present sample of Swiss vocational students. Second, bivariate

correlations showed that only VPA, rather than LPA or MPA, was associated with reduced

burnout. Third, both the ACSM and CDC guidelines were useful to identify significant differences

in burnout symptoms between students who met versus did not meet the prescribed minimal

recommendations. Fourth, both the ACSM and CDC guidelines successfully discriminated

students scoring above versus below clinically relevant burnout levels. Fifth, stronger effect sizes

were found if the CDC guidelines were used as a fixed factor compared to the ACSM standards.

The current study extends previous research in that it used validated instruments to assess

both PA and burnout, referred to and compared current and unanimously accepted PA

recommendations, used the pre-established SMBM clinically relevant burnout cut-off scores,

controlled for demographic background as well as LPA and MPA when comparing students who

met versus did not meet the VPA recommendations and focused on a young population that is

highly relevant from a public health perspective. The majority of Swiss adolescents who complete

VET operate in a state of high stress which is derived from not only the adolescence to adulthood

transition but also poorer mental health and lower PA levels in comparison with peers enrolled in

high school (Jeannin et al., 2005; Michaud et al., 2006).

Collectively, five main hypotheses were formulated to determine emerging results. The

first hypothesis posited that low to moderate correlations exist between LPA, MPA and VPA.

However, in contrast to a previous adolescent study which used the same instrument (De Cocker

et al., 2009), no significant correlations were observed in the present investigation. These

discrepancies might be due to the fact that the focus was placed on vocational students or that

participants reported lower levels of LPA and MPA in the present sample.

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 14

The second hypothesis assumed that moderate to strong correlations emerge between the

occupational and school burnout measures. As expected, Hypothesis 2 was supported in the

present study because the occupational and school burnout instruments are conceptually related.

The third hypothesis asserted that LPA (Hypothesis 3a), MPA (Hypothesis 3b), and VPA

(Hypothesis 3c) are negatively correlated with burnout. Not all three tiers of this hypothesis were

supported. Although previous studies suggested that LPA is associated with reduced burnout

symptoms (Gerber, Jonsdottir, et al., 2014; Lindwall et al., 2012), the present data revealed that

such a relationship existed only for VPA. This finding slightly deviates from the aforementioned

studies, which were all carried out with adult workers. However, the current finding accord with

prior research in young people, suggesting that youth who accomplish recommended levels of

VPA also report better mental health compared to peers who do not meet the recommendations

(Allison et al., 2005; Harbour et al., 2008).

The fourth hypothesis stated that adolescents who accomplish current VPA

recommendations report lower burnout levels compared to peers not meeting these criteria. This

hypothesis was partly supported. Participants who did not reach the minimal ACSM and CDC

guidelines were overrepresented among students with clinically relevant burnout levels. Moreover,

participants who met the ACSM recommendations reported lower emotional exhaustion at school,

whereas students who fulfilled the CDC basic recommendations scored lower on the overall scales

for occupational and school burnout and reported less physical fatigue on the SMBM subscale.

The findings are supported by a recent study comparing students who met versus did not meet the

ACSM moderate-to-vigorous PA guidelines (Gerber, Lang, et al., 2014). Regarding the strength of

the group differences, Cohen’s (1994) standards for the interpretation of effect sizes classified the

main effects as small to moderate. Small effects in the same direction were also found for some

scales (e.g. cognitive weariness on the SMBM), although the differences did not reach

significance.

Larger effect sizes were indeed revealed when the CDC categories were set as a fixed

factor. Although an overlap existed between the ACSM and the CDC guidelines, it was not exact

and requires explanation. Among the students who did not meet the ACSM recommendations,

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 15

only 37% (n = 25) did not accomplish the basic CDC standards, whereas 32% (n = 22) reached

these standards and 31% (n = 21) were classified in the CDC category with “even greater health

benefits”. Alternatively, among students who satisfied the ACSM standards, all accomplished the

CDC recommendations, 8% (n = 6) met the basic standards, and 92% (n = 70) reached the

benchmark for “even greater benefits”. The main reason for this discrepancy is that the ACSM

guideline sets a frequency-based minimal standard (≥ 3 days/week of ≥ 20 min), whereas the CDC

guidelines only consider accumulated duration (≥ 75 min/week). Thus, a person who is jogging for

one hour on two days per week remains below the ACSM minimal standards, but accomplishes

the requirements set by the CDC. In comparison to the ACSM recommendations, participants

seem less likely to be classified into the group of individuals who do not accomplish the minimal

PA recommendations per CDC guidelines. As a result, participants who do not meet the CDC

minimal standards form a more homogeneous group (participants with relatively low VPA levels)

than those who do not reach the ACSM standards. This may give reason to why the CDC

categories explained more burnout variance in this sample.

Support was found for the fifth hypothesis. Significant main effects of PA on burnout

persisted even after controlling for LPA and MPA. This finding is congruent with studies showing

that VPA has positive health effects beyond those of LPA or MPA using physical health indicators

(Lee & Paffenbarger, 2000; Manson et al., 2002; van de Laar et al., 2010). Moreover, the findings

corroborate with a recent study of young adults, which illustrated positive effects of VPA on

mental health after controlling for MPA (Gerber, Brand, et al., 2014). Vital to the present study

was the ability to control for age, gender and financial situation in all analyses. Thus, potentially

confounding factors, which have been known to influence the association between PA and burnout

can be dismissed. The trend of boys engaging more in VPA is well documented among Swiss

adolescents (Lamprecht, Fischer, & Stamm, 2008; Michaud et al., 2006). In contrast, no

significant gender differences were found for burnout, which contradicts findings in Finnish

adolescents (Salmela-Aro, Savolainen, et al., 2009; Salmela-Aro & Tynkkynen, 2012). It is

possible that gender was not associated with burnout because the burnout level was generally high

in the present sample of Swiss VET students.

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 16

We acknowledge that the cross-sectional data cannot infer cause and effect. Given that the

factors of burnout include primarily exhaustion and fatigue, it is also possible that those

adolescents who were high in symptoms of burnout did not feel they had the energy to engage in

VPA (cp. Sonnentag & Jelden, 2009).  Nevertheless, studies of adults have shown that changes in

PA are negatively associated with changes in burnout (Lindwall et al., 2014) and that increased

PA can reduce burnout symptoms among participants with high baseline burnout scores (Gerber et

al., 2013). Moreover, there are numerous psychological and physiological pathways that may link

VPA and burnout. Nevertheless, these pathways were not explicitly assessed in the present study.

We hope that these pathways will be examined more thoroughly in future research by applying

longitudinal study designs.

With regard to the psychological mechanisms, previous studies have shown that, among

young people, PA is associated with increased self-rated health (Gopinath, Hardy, Baur,

Burlutsky, & Mitchell, 2012), decreased depressive symptoms (Motl, Birnbaum, Kubik, &

Dishman, 2004), and sleep complaints (Loprinzi & Cardinal, 2011). These symptoms are all

closely associated with burnout (Shirom et al., 2005). A strong link between high burnout

symptoms and impaired mental health was also observed among adolescents (Gerber, Lang, et al.,

2014). Furthermore, a significant association exists between perceived stress and burnout

symptoms (Gerber, Lang, et al., 2014). This is relevant because studies with young people have

shown that VPA has the potential to mitigate the negative consequences of various types of stress

(Haugland, Wold, & Torsheim, 2003; Sigfusdottir, Asgeirsdottir, Sigurdsson, & Gudjonsson,

2011).

With regard to the physiological mechanisms, research has revealed that physically active

participants show a blunted response to and a faster recovery from experimentally induced stress

(e.g. Rimmele et al., 2009). Moreover, experimental studies suggest that engaging in VPA prior to

a laboratory stress is associated with a reduced physiological reactivity (Hamer, Taylor, &

Steptoe, 2006). Thus, these findings highlight that PA can have a positive impact on both the

hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and the sympathetic-adrenergic-medullary system, which are

linked to the burnout syndrome (Pruessner, Hellhammer, & Kirschbaum, 1999). Evidence also

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 17

exist that PA is associated with improved psychoneuroimmunology (Hong & Mills, 2006).

Moreover, researchers have shown that PA is associated with an enhanced brain-derived

neurotrophic factor expression (Huang, Larsen, Ried-Larsen, Møller, & Andersen, 2014), which

might contribute to the neurobiology of the burnout syndrome. For instance, Onen Sertoz et al.

(2008) demonstrated that participants with clinically diagnosed burnout had significantly lower

levels of BDNF compared to healthy controls.

Adolescence has been described as a key transition period with an increased risk for the

onset of psychopathology (Grant et al., 2003). Dealing with these physiological and psychosocial

changes might demand particular attention. In the present study, the adolescents reported burnout

levels comparable to adult workers (Norlund et al., 2010). This is a critical finding because once

burnout is developed, the associated symptoms show highly stable trajectories (Toppinen-Tanner

et al., 2002).

Overall, the results of this study were limited, given that they were gleaned from a non-

random sample of adolescent vocational students. A further limitation is the study’s small sample

size. Therefore, we exercised caution in the interpretation of results. Specifically, the statistical

values were categorized by referring to Cohen’s (1994) effect size recommendations.

Furthermore, the findings are based on self-report measures of PA, which only allowed for

the comparison of three physical activities, namely, LPA, MPA and VPA. The PA assessment also

ignores other established intricacies associated with PA participation (e.g. individual vs. group

activities, informal vs. structured activities).

The present study contributes to the research by suggesting that PA can help adolescent

vocational students to deal with occupational stress. Since burnout symptoms are common among

vocational students, identifying factors associated with resilience is relevant to establish effective

prevention and health promotion measures. There could be a shift in the way adolescent PA is

approached in practice. One recent study envisages replacing sedentary behavior with higher

intensity physical activities (Mitchell, Pate, Beets, & Nader, 2013). Additionally, physical

education-based interventions could support the increase of time spent by adolescents in VPA

(Quinn, 2013). Given this exploratory research, implications for future adolescent PA and burnout

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 18

research are warranted. Additional results could emerge from controlled research trials by

deliberately sampling at-risk student populations with clinically high levels of burnout.

References

Ahola, K., Pulkki-Raback, L., Kouvonen, A., Rossi, H., Aromaa, A., & Lönnqvist, J. (2012).

Burnout and behavior-related health risk factors. Results from the population-based Finnish

Health 2000 study. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 54, 17-22.

doi:10.1097/JOM.0b013e31823ea9d9

Ainsworth, B.E., Haskell, W.L., Whitt, M.C., Irwin, M.L., Swartz, A.M., Strath, S.J., . . . Leon,

A.S. (2000). Compendium of physical activities: An update of activity codes and MET

intensities. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 32, S498-S516.

Allison, K.R., Adlaf, E.M., Irving, H.M., Hatch, J.L., Smith, T.F., Dwyer, J.J.M., & Goodman, J.

(2005). Relationship of vigorous physical activity to psychologic distress among

adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 37, 164-166.

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.08.017

Åstrand, P.-O., Rodahl, K., Dahl, H., & Strømme, S.B. (2003). Textbook of work physiology.

Champaign: Human Kinetics.

Aypay, A. (2011). Elementary School Student Burnout Scale for Grades 6-8: A Study of Validity

and Reliability. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 11, 520-527.

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Mahwah: Erlbaum.

Cohen, J. (1994). The earth is round (p less than .05). American Psychologist, 49, 997-1003. doi:  

10.1037/0003-066X.49.12.997

Craig, C. L., Marshall, A. L., Sjostrom, M., Bauman, A. E., Booth, M. L., Ainsworth, B. E., ...

Oja, P. (2003). International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and

validity. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 35, 1381-1395.

Cropanzano, R., Rupp, D. E., & Byrne, Z. S. (2003). The relationship of emotional exhaustion to

work attitudes, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 88, 160-169. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.1.160

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 19

Dahlin, M. E., & Runeson, B. (2007). Burnout and psychiatric morbidity among medical students

entering clinical training: A three year prospective questionnaire and interview-based study.

BMC Medical Education, 7, 6. doi:1472-6920-7-6.10.1186/1472-6920-7-6

De Cocker, K., Ottevaere, C., Sjöström, M., Moreno, L.A., Warnberg, J., Valtuena, J., . . .

HELENA Study Group (2009). Self-reported physical activity in European adolescents:

Results from the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study.

Public Health Nutrition, 14, 246-252. doi:10.1017/S1368980010000558

Dunn, A. L., Trivedi, M. H., Kampert, J. B., Clark, C. G., & Chambliss, H. O. (2005). Exercise

treatment for depression. Efficacy and dose response. American Journal of Preventive

Medicine, 28, 1-8. doi:10.1016/m.amepre.2004.09.003

Dyrbye, L. N., Thomas, M. R., Massie, F. S., Power, D. V., Eacker, A., Harper, W., ... Shanafelt,

T. D. (2008). Burnout and suicidal ideation among U.S. medical students. Annals of Internal

Medicine, 149, 334-341. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-149-5-200809020-00008

Galper, D.I., Trivedi, M.H., Barlow, C.E., Dunn, A.L., & Kampert, J.B. (2006). Inverse

association between physical inactivity and mental health in men and women. Medicine and

Science in Sports and Exercise, 38, 173-178.

Gerber, M., Brand, S., Elliot, C., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., Pühse, U., & Beck, J. (2013). Aerobic

exercise training and burnout: A pilot study with male participants suffering from burnout.

BMC Research Notes, 6, doi:10.1186/1756-0500-1186-1178.

Gerber, M., Brand, S., Herrmann, C., Colledge, F., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., & Pühse, U. (2014).

Increased objectively assessed vigorous-intensity exercise is associated with reduced stress,

increased mental health and good objective and subjective sleep in young adults. Physiology

and Behavior, 135, 17-24. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.05.047

Gerber, M., Jonsdottir, I.H., Lindwall, M., & Ahlborg, G. (2014). Physical activity in employees

with differing occupational stress and mental health profiles: A latent profile analysis.

Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 15, 649-658. doi:10.1016/j.psychosport.2014.07.012

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 20

Gerber, M., Lang, C., Feldmeth, A.K., Elliot, C., Brand, S., Hoslboer-Trachsler, E., & Pühse, U.

(2014). Burnout and mental health in Swiss vocational students: The moderating role of

physical activity. Journal of Research on Adolescence, doi:10.1111/jora.12097

Gopinath, B., Hardy, L.L., Baur, L.A., Burlutsky, G., & Mitchell, P. (2012). Physical activity and

sedentary behaviors and health-related quality of life in adolescents. Pediatrics, 130, 167-

174. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-3637

Grant, K. E., Compas, B. E., Stuhlmacher, A. F., Thurm, A. E., McMahon, S. D., & Halpert, J. A.

(2003). Stressors and child and adolescent psychopathology: Moving from markers to

mechanisms of risk. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 447-466. doi:10.1037/0033-

2909.129.3.447

Grossi, G., Perski, A., Evengard, B., Blomkvist, V., & Orth-Gomer, K. (2003). Physiological

correlates of burnout among women. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 55, 309-316.

doi:10.1016/S0022-3999(02)00633-5

Hamer, M., Taylor, A., & Steptoe, A. (2006). The effect of acute exercise on stress related blood

pressure responses: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Biological Psychology, 71, 183-

190. doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2005.04.004

Harbour, V. J., Behrens, T. K., Kim, H. S., & Kitchens, C. L. (2008). Vigorous physical activity

and depressive symptoms in college students. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 5,

516-526.

Haskell, W. L., Lee, I.M., Pate, R. R., Powell, W. W., Blair, S.N., Franklin, B.A., ... Bauman, A.

(2007). Physical activity and public health. Updated recommendation for adults from the

American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Medicine and

Science in Sports and Exercise, 39, 1423-1434.

Haugland, S., Wold, B., & Torsheim, T. (2003). Relieving the pressure? The role of physical

activity in the relationship between school-related stress and adolescent health complaints.

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 74, 127-135.

doi:10.1080/02701367.2003.10609074

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 21

Hong, S., & Mills, P. J. (2006). Physical activity and psychoneuroimmunology. In E. O. Acevedo

& P. Ekkekakis (Eds.), Psychobiology of physical activity (pp. 177-188). Champaign:

Human Kinetics.

Huang, T., Larsen, K.T., Ried-Larsen, M., Møller, N.C., & Andersen, L.B. (2014). The effects of

physical activity and exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factor in healthy humans: A

review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24, 1-10.

doi:10.1111/sms.12069

Jeannin, A., Narring, F., Tschumper, A., Inderwildi Bonivento, L., Addor, V., Bütikofer, A., ...

Michaud, P.-A. (2005). Self-reported health needs and use of primary health care services by

adolescents enrolled in post-mandatory schools or vocational training programmes in

Switzerland. Swiss Medical Weekly, 135, 11-18.

Kiuru, N., Aunola, K., Nurmi, J.-E., Leskinen, E., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2008). Peer group influence

and selection in adolescents' school burnout: A longitudinal study. Merrill-Palmer

Quarterly, 54, 23-55. doi:10.1353/mpq.2008.0008

Kohl, H. III, & Murray, T. (2012). Foundations of physical activity and public health. Champaign:

Human Kinetics.

Lamprecht, M., Fischer, M., & Stamm, M. (2008). Sport Schweiz 2008. Kinder- und

Jugendbericht. Magglingen: BASPO.

Larun, L., Nordheim, L.V., Ekeland, E., Hagen, K. B., & Heian, F. (2006). Exercise in prevention

and treatment of anxiety and depression among children and young people. Chochrane

Database of Systematic Reviews, 3, doi:10.1002/14651858.CD14004691.pub14651852.

Lee, I. M., & Paffenbarger, R. S., Jr. (2000). Associations of light, moderate, and vigorous

intensity physical activity with longevity. The Harvard Alumni Health Study. American

Journal of Epidemiology, 151, 293-299.

Lerman, Y., Melamed, S., Shragin, Y., Kushnir, T., Rotgoltz, Y., Shirom, A., & Aronson, M.

(1999). Association between burnout at work and leukocyte adhesiveness/aggregation.

Psychosomatic Medicine, 61, 828-833.

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 22

Lindwall, M., Gerber, M., Jonsdottir, I., Börjesson, M., & Ahlborg, G. Jr. (2014). The

relationships of change in physical activity with change in depression, anxiety, and burnout:

A longitudinal study of Swedish healthcare workers. Health Psychology, 33, 1309-1318.

doi:10.1037/a0034402.

Lindwall, M., Ljung, T., Hadzibajramovic, E., & Jonsdottir, I. (2012). Self-reported physical

activity and aerobic fitness are differently related to mental health. Mental Health and

Physical Activity, 5, 28-34. doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2011.12.003

Loprinzi, P.D., & Cardinal, B.J. (2011). Association between objectively-measured physical

activity and sleep, NHANES 2005e2006. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 4, 65-69.

doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2011.08.001

Lundgren-Nilsson, A., Jonsdottir, I.H., Pallant, J., & Ahlborg, G. (2012). Internal construct

validity of the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire (SMBQ). BMC Public Health,

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-1112-1181.

Manson, J. E., Greenland, P., LaCroix, A. Z., Stefanick, M. L., Mouton, C. P., Oberman, A., ...

Siscovick, D. S. (2002). Walking compared with vigorous exercise for the prevention of

cardiovascular events in women. New England Journal of Medicine, 347, 716-725.

doi:10.1056/NEJMoa021067

Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology,

52, 397-422. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397

Melamed, S., Kushnir, T., & Shirom, A. (1992). Burnout and risk factors for cardiovascular

disease. Behavioral Medicine, 18, 53-60. doi:10.1080/08964289.1992.9935172

Michaud, P.-A., Jeannin, A., & Suris, J.-C. (2006). Correlates of extracurricular sport participation

among Swiss adolescents. European Journal of Pedriatrics, 165, 546-555.

doi:10.1007/s00431-006-0129-9

Mitchell, J. A., Pate, R. R., Beets, M. W., & Nader, P. R. (2013). Time spent in sedentary behavior

and changes in childhood BMI: a longitudinal study from ages 9 to 15 years. International

Journal of Obesity, 37, 54-60. doi:10.1038/ijo.2012.41

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 23

Motl, R.W., Birnbaum, A.S., Kubik, M.Y., & Dishman, R.K. (2004). Naturally occurring changes

in physical activity are inversely related to depressive symptoms during early adolescence.

Psychosomatic Medicine, 66, 336-342.

Norlund, S., Reuterwall, C., Höög, J., Lindahl, B., Janlert, U., & Slunga Birgander, L. (2010).

Burnout, working conditions and gender - results from the northern Sweden MONICA

Study. BMC Public Health, 10, 326. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-1110-1326.

Nunnally, J., & Bernstein, B. (1994). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Onen Sertoz, O., Tolga Binbay, I., Koylu, E., Noyan, A., Yildirim, E., & Elbi Mete, H. (2008).

The role of BDNF and HPA axis in the neurobiology of burnout syndrome. Progress in

Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 32, 1459-1465.

doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2008.05.001

Ottevaere, C., Huybrechts, I., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Sjostrom, M., Ruiz, J. R., Ortega, F. B., ...

Grp, Helena Study. (2011). Comparison of the IPAQ-A and Actigraph in relation to

VO(2)max among European adolescents: The HELENA study. Journal of Science and

Medicine in Sport, 14, 317-324. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2011.02.008

Pate, R. R., Pratt, M., Blair, S. N., Haskell, W. L., Macera, C. A., Bouchard, C., . . . Wilmore, J.

H. (1995). Physical activity and public health. A recommendation from the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine. Journal of

the American Medical Association, 273, 402-407. doi:10.1001/jama.1995.03520290054029

Pavey, T. G., Peeters, G., Bauman, A. E., & Brown, W. J. (2013). Does vigorous physical activity

provide additional benefits beyond those of moderate? Medicine and Science in Sports and

Exercise, 45, 1948-1955. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182940b91

Pruessner, J.C., Hellhammer, D., & Kirschbaum, C. (1999). Burnout, perceived stress, and cortisol

responses to awakening. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61, 197-204.

Quinn, M. (2013). Introduction of active video gaming into the middle school curriculum as a

school-based childhood obesity intervention. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 27, 3-12.

doi:10.1016/j.pedhc.2011.03.011

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 24

Rimmele, U., Seiler, R., Marti, B., Wirtz, P.H., Ehlert, U., & Heinrichs, M. (2009). The level of

physical activity affects adrenal and cardiovascular reactivity to psychosocial stress.

Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34, 190-198. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.08.023

Rosenbaum, S., Tiedemann, A., Sherrington, C., Curtis, J., & Ward, P. B. (2014). Physical activity

interventions for people with mental illness: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal

of Clinical Psychiatry, doi:10.4088/JCP.4013r08765.

Salmela-Aro, K., Kiuru, N., Leskinen, E., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2009). School-Burnout Inventory (SBI).

Reliability and validity. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25, 48-57.

doi:10.1027/1015-5759.25.1.48

Salmela-Aro, K., Kiuru, N., & Nurmi, J. E. (2008). The role of educational track in adolescents'

school burnout: A longitudinal study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 663-

689. doi:10.1348/000709908X281628

Salmela-Aro, K., Savolainen, H., & Holopainen, L. (2009). Depressive symptoms and school

burnout during adolescence: Evidence from two cross-lagged longitudinal studies. Journal

of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 1316-1327. doi:1310.1007/s10964-10008-19334-10963.

Salmela-Aro, K., & Tynkkynen, L. (2012). Gendered pathways in school burnout among

adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 929-939. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.01.001

Schaufeli, W. B., Martinez, I., Marques Pinto, A., Salanova, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). Burnout

and engagement in university students: A cross-national study. Journal of Cross-Cultural

Psychology, 33, 464-481. doi:10.1177/0022022102033005003

Shirom, A., Melamed, S., Toker, S., Berliner, S., & Shapira, E. (2005). Burnout, mental and

physical health: A review of the evidence and a proposed explanatory model. International

Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 20, 269-309.

Sigfusdottir, I.D., Asgeirsdottir, B.B., Sigurdsson, J.F., & Gudjonsson, G.H. (2011). Physical

activity buffers the effects of family conflict on depressed mood: A study on adolescent girls

and boys. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 895-902. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.01.003

 
ADOLESCENT BURNOUT AND VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 25

Sonnentag, S., & Jelden, S. (2009). Job stressors and the pursuit of sport activities: A day-level

perspective. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14, 165-181.

doi:10.1037/a0014953

Swain, D. P., & Franklin, B. A. (2006). Comparison of cardioprotective benefits of vigorous

versus moderate intensity aerobic exercise. American Journal of Cardiology, 97, 141-147.

doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2005.07.130

Tagesanzeiger. (2008). Lehrlinge erhalten wenig Lohn für viel Arbeit.

http://sc.tagesanzeiger.ch/dyn/news/schweiz/872214.html.

Toker, S., & Biron, M. (2012). Job burnout and depression: Unraveling their temporal relationship

and considering the role of physical activity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, 699-710.

doi:10.1037/a0026914

Toppinen-Tanner, S., Kalimo, R., & Mutanen, P. (2002). The process of burnout in white-collar

and blue-collar jobs: Eight-year prospective study of exhaustion. Journal of Organizational

Behavior, 23, 555-570. doi:10.1002/job.155

Toppinen-Tanner, S., Ojajärvi, A., Väänänen, A., Kalimo, R., & Jäppinen, P. (2005). Burnout as a

predictor of medically certified sick-leave absences and their diagnosed causes. Behavioral

Medicine, 31, 18-27. doi:10.3200/BMED.31.1.18-32

US Department of Health and Human Services. (1996). Physical Activity and Health: A Report of

the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services. Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and

Health Promotion. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

van de Laar, R. J., Ferreira, I., van Mechelen, W., Prins, M. H., Twisk, J. W., & Stehouwer, C. D.

(2010). Lifetime vigorous but not light-to-moderate habitual physical activity impacts

favorably on carotid stiffness in young adults: the amsterdam growth and health longitudinal

study. Hypertension, 55, 33-39. doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.109.138289

Woolcott, J.C., Ashe, M.C., Miller, W.C., Shi, P., & Marra, C. (2010). Does physical activity

reduce seniors' need for healthcare? A study of 24281 Canadians. British Journal of Sports

Medicine, 44, 902-904. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.057216

 
Table 1
Means, Standard Deviations, Scale Reliabilities, Range, Skewness, and Kurtosis of Three Physical Activity Levels and Burnout Variables.

Range
M SD α (items) Potential Actual Skewness Kurtosis
Light Physical Activity (min/week) 302.38 264.01 --- 0-1260 0-1260 1.32 1.66
Moderate Physical Activity (min/week) 122.49 135.05 --- 0-1260 0-720 1.89 4.31
Vigorous Physical Activity (min/week) 237.92 159.37 --- 0-1260 0-630 0.53 -0.48
Occupational Burnout – Overall 2.94 0.91 .92 (14) 1-7 1.14-5.07 0.19 -0.80
Physical Fatigue 3.15 1.08 .90 (6) 1-7 1.17-5.83 0.29 -0.53
Cognitive Weariness 3.00 1.02 .90 (5) 1-7 1.00-5.60 1.80 -0.76
Emotional Exhaustion 2.42 1.13 .80 (3) 1-7 1.00-7.00 0.91 1.06
School Burnout – Overall 2.58 0.90 .82 (9) 1-6 1.23-6.00 1.34 1.84
Exhaustion at School 2.93 1.17 .76 (4) 1-6 1.14-6.00 0.79 -0.07
Cynicism Towards Meaning of School 2.50 1.18 .80 (3) 1-6 1.00-6.00 1.64 2.50
Sense of Inadequacy at School 2.95 1.24 .55 (2) 1-6 1.20-6.00 1.03 0.60
Note. α = Cronbach’s alpha. N = 144.
Table 2
Bivariate Correlations Between Physical Activity and Burnout Variables.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
1. Light Physical Activity (min/week) ---
2. Moderate Physical Activity (min/week) .01 ---
3. Vigorous Physical Activity (min/week) .07 .12 ---
4. Occupational Burnout – Overall .01 -.05 -.17* ---
5. Physical Fatigue .03 .01 -.13 .91*** ---
6. Cognitive Weariness -.04 -.14 -.16* .88*** .68*** ---
†
7. Emotional Exhaustion .03 .02 -.14 .72*** .48*** .52*** ---
8. School Burnout – Overall .09 -.03 -.26** .69*** .66*** .62*** .41*** ---
9. Exhaustion at School .06 .05 -.26** .52*** .47*** .51*** .29*** .82*** ---
10. Cynicism Towards Meaning of School .09 -.10 -.13 .59*** .61*** .48*** .33*** .80*** .37*** ---
11. Sense of Inadequacy at School .08 -.03 -.18* .44*** .37*** .47*** .26** .74*** .84*** .35*** ---
†
Note. N = 144. p < .10. *p < .05. ** p < .01. ***p < .001.
Table 3
Means, Standard Deviations, Degrees of Freedom, F-values, and eta2 of the Outcome Variables for Students who Met the ACSM VPA Standards
Versus Students who did not Meet the ACSM VPA Standards.

Did not Meet Met Model 1 Model 2

Standards Standards
(n = 68) (n = 76)
M (SD) M (SD) df F η2 df F η2
Occupational Burnout – Overall 2.99 (0.95) 2.88 (0.88) 1 0.82 .006 1 0.89 .006
Physical Fatigue 3.17 (1.14) 3.13 (1.04) 1 0.13 .001 1 0.14 .001
Cognitive Weariness 3.09 (1.08) 2.88 (0.94) 1 1.60 .011 1 1.86 .013
Emotional Exhaustion 2.45 (1.27) 2.36 (0.98) 1 0.68 .001 1 0.65 .005
School Burnout – Overall 23.94 (7.30) 22.50 (6.72) 1 1.70 .012 1 1.72 .012
Exhaustion at School 10.37 (3.96) 8.89 (3.32) 1 5.84* .040 1 5.61* .039
Cynicism Towards Meaning of School 8.26 (3.03) 8.61 (3.22) 1 0.16 .001 1 0.73 .001
Sense of Inadequacy at School 5.00 (1.78) 4.57 (1.84) 1 1.95 .014 1 1.96 .014
Note. Model 1. Controlled for gender, age, and financial situation. Model 2. Controlled for gender, age, financial situation, LPA, and MPA.
*p < .05.
Table 4
Means, Standard Deviations, Degrees of Freedom, F-values, and eta2 for Students who Met Versus did not Meet the CDC VPA Standards.

Did not Meet Met Standards: Met Standards: Model 1 Model 2

Standards Basic Health Greater Health
Benefits Benefits
(n = 25) (n = 28) (n = 91)
M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) df F η2 df F η2
Occupational Burnout – Overall 3.38 (0.94) 2.83 (0.92) 2.83 (0.87) 2 4.21* .057 2 4.02* .056
Physical Fatigue 3.69 (1.09) 2.98 (1.05) 3.05 (1.06) 2 4.40* .060 2 4.30* .059
†
Cognitive Weariness 3.39 (1.12) 2.94 (1.02) 2.88 (0.96) 2 2.56 .036 2 2.28 .032
Emotional Exhaustion 2.75 (1.52) 2.35 (1.19) 2.33 (0.97) 2 1.77 .025 2 1.81 .026
School Burnout – Overall 26.28 (6.85) 23.54 (7.25) 22.22 (6.80) 2 3.43* .047 2 3.62* .047
Exhaustion at School 10.68 (4.25) 10.18 (3.17) 9.11 (3.63) 2 1.96 .028 2 2.09 .030
†
Cynicism Towards Meaning of School 9.60 (2.78) 8.21 (3.29) 8.20 (3.12) 2 2.40 .034 2 2.18 .031
Sense of Inadequacy at School 5.00 (2.00) 5.00 (1.56) 4.64 (1.85) 2 0.49 .007 2 0.49 .007
Note. Model 1. Controlled for gender, age, and financial situation. Model 2. Controlled for gender, age, financial situation, LPA, and MPA.
†
p < .10. *p < .05.