Relationship between Academic Burnout, Irritability and Subjective Well-being among

Undergraduate students in India

Burnout

Academic Burnout

Academic achievement is a huge determinant for the success of students with respect to

their education and career, and thus students are under constant pressure to score good academic

grades. Such heavy pressure, when exerted on students without any form of adequate support

mechanism, can make students susceptible to academic burnout (Oyoo, 2020).

According to Schaufeli et al. (2002), academic burnout is defined as a feeling of

exhaustion due to high academic requirements and demands, which makes learners develop

negative attitudes and pessimistic feelings about assignments. Schaufeli et al. (2002) also

classified academic burnout in three main sub-categories: emotional exhaustion, cynicism and

academic inefficacy. Emotional exhaustion occurs from the academic pressure posed upon

students for academic excellence. Cynicism occurs when learners are unable to excel as

expected, and then go on to become indifferent and develop negative attitudes towards academic

work. Academic inefficacy refers to a feeling of inadequacy and a diminished feeling of

competence which further leads to low academic achievement (Schaufeli et al., 2002).

People with academic burnout might experience lack of interest toward academic issues,

disaffiliation in class activities, inability to attend academic classes continuously and incapability

in the acquisition of academic issues. It can also affect students' enthusiasm towards education

(Yang and Farn, 2005). In psychiatrists, burnout was manifested by changes in appearance (e.g.,
look of fatigue), behavior (e.g., becoming avoidant, making less eye contact), and mood (e.g.,

becoming more irritable and agitated, communicating poorly) (Fischer et al., 2007).

Research shows that student stress in academic work can actually lead to mental health

problems and discomfort (Klainin‐Yobas et al., 2014). Since University students are the

foundation of the future of their families and the community, they face more burdens and

demands, and also face stressors in attaining their academic goals (Eisenberg et al., 2007). Social

support can help reduce stress levels and depression among youth (Asante, 2012). Studies also

showed that academic burnout was negatively associated with academic engagement (Ugwu FO

et al., 2013) and increased instances of suicide ideation in students (Dyrbye LN et al., 2008).

Depersonalization refers to negative, cynical or excessively detached responses to other

people at work and it represents the interpersonal component of burnout (Maslach, 1998). The

depersonalization component of burnout leads to symptoms like irritability, as well as loss of

emotional involvement and disengagement (Bianchi et al., 2018).

Irritability

Irritability is a mood that is characterized by a proneness to experience negative affective

states, like anger, frustration, and annoyance upon slight provocation, and these may be

expressed overtly through aggressive behavior (Born & Steiner, 1999; Craig, Hietanen,

Markova, & Berrios, 2008; Snaith & Taylor, 1985). Although some studies have found more

frequent and higher/intense levels of irritability in females (Perlis et al., 2009; Piazzini et al.,

2011), other researches have failed to establish any significant gender differences (Fava et al.,

2010; Verhoeven, Booij, Van der Wee, Penninx, & Van der Does, 2011; Marcus et al., 2008).

Men also may experience and label irritability differently than women (Born et al., 2008).

According to Brotman et al. (2017), "youths with irritability show maladaptive orienting to,
interpreting and labeling of potential threats associated with prefrontal cortical and amygdala

dysfunction".

High levels of stress and irritability can have a negative impact on a person’s well-being.

General Well-being is a positive outcome which is meaningful for individuals and various

sectors of the society, since it tells us that people perceive that their lives are going well

(Padmakumari and Prativadi, 2012). According to Verma and Verma (1989), general well-being

is defined as “the subjective feeling of contentment, happiness, satisfaction with life experience

and of one’s role in the world of work. Sense of achievement, utility, belongingness and absence

of distress, dissatisfaction or worry, etc.” General well-being is a part of positive mental health.

Positive mental health is a broad concept, which is not just a mere absence of disease or

infirmity. The absence of psychological ill-being/ ill-health does not necessarily mean that

psychological well-being is present (Verma, 1988). Verma and Verma (1989) argued that the

above-mentioned aspects cannot be objectively evaluated, so they emphasized on the term

"subjective" well-being.

Subjective well-being (SWB) refers to how individuals experience and evaluate their

lives, and specific domains as well as activities in their lives. In other words, “Subjective well-

being refers to the extent to which a person believes or feels that her life is going well”,

according to Nima et al. (2020). It usually comprises of two evaluations, namely, affective

evaluations (evaluations of emotions like fear, joy, anger etc.) and cognitive evaluations

(evaluations of life as a whole in relation to self-imposed ideal) (Diener et al., 2002).

Need for Study

Students are usually under immense stress to perform well academically, have a concrete

plan with regards to their current as well as future vocational choices and succeed in their
careers, especially when the are pursuing their undergraduate degrees. Such high expectations

and heavy pressure, when exerted on students without any form of adequate support mechanism,

can make students susceptible to academic burnout (Oyoo, 2020). Although the relationship

between academic burnout and well-being has been studied in an Indian context, it has widely

only been studied in medical students. This paucal amount of research in this field is the reason

why the present study’s questionnaire was open to undergraduate students of all degrees in India.

Establishing the effects of such a relationship can also help researchers develop

appropriate intervention methods for students to help them cope with their academic burnout and

hence reducing their irritability, and further improving their general and subjective well-being.

Incorporating such interventions can also help reduce suicide rates and ideation among

undergraduate students. These interventions can also help to reduce mental exhaustion and

fatigue of students, and improve their motivation and focus towards academics.

Furthermore, understanding the relationship between academic burnout and subjective

well-being in students can also facilitate the process of providing them appropriate social

support, which can help improve the general well-being of the students.

Review of Literature

Researches on Burnout

Fischer et al. (2007) aimed to study the causative and protective factors associated with

the burnout in psychiatrists in New Zealand, to identify signs and symptoms of their burnout

syndrome as well as to find any difference in the psychiatrists' perspectives who scored high

versus who scored low on the emotional exhaustion subscale is the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

They randomly selected twelve participants, six from each group (high versus low emotional
exhaustion) and then carried out a face-to-face interview based on a semi-structured

questionnaire with each participant. The transcripts were recorded verbatim and analyzed.

Results showed that burnout caused changes in appearance (like looks of fatigue), behavior (like

avoidant behavior, making less eye contact) and mood (like more Irritability, agitation, poor

communication).

Rahmati (2015) studied the relationship between academic burnout and different self-

efficacy levels among university students. Rahmati included 120 students from AllameTabatabei

University who completed academic burnout and self-efficacy questionnaires. T-test was used

for data analysis and the results showed that showed a negative relationship among self-efficacy,

academic burnout variables and its various dimension.

Bikar et al. (2018) studied the relationship between affective structures and academic

burnout among third grade high school students in Zahedan, with an emphasis on gender. Their

study included a sample of 362 students and they used Breso's Academic Burnout Questionnaire

and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson et al., 1988). Results show that positive

effect was significantly and diversely correlated to academic burnout and its subscales; and

negative effect was significantly and directly correlated to academic Burnout and its dimensions.

Results of t-test showed that there were no significant gender differences with regard to positive

and negative affects; however, academic burnout was higher in males.

Zheng (2018) studied a population of 202 registered adult reconstructive doctors in China

to explore burnout among them and its prevalence, risk factors and relationship with

intraoperative irritability. They conducted this study to improve the quality of life for surgeons.

They measured burnout through a normalized translated version of the Maslach Burnout

Inventory-Human Service survey. Electronic questionnaires were used to collect demographics,

intraoperative irritability-related questions and professional characteristics. They used SPSS 22.0

for statistical analysis. They found that burnout was highly prevalent in Chinese adult

intraoperative surgeons and that intraoperative irritability was significantly correlated with

burnout and it especially significant in emotional exhaustion.

Koutsimani et al. (2019), conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine

the link between burnout and depression and also the relationship between burnout and anxiety.

They included cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, published and unpublished research

articles, full-text articles, articles written in English, studies that present the effects sizes of their

findings and that used reliable research tools. Results of their study showed that there was a

significant association between burnout and depression as well as burnout and anxiety.

Supervia et al. (2020) studied the relationship between the constructs of goal orientations,

emotional intelligence and burnout in students. Their study included 2896 students between 12-

18 years of age and they used Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ), the Trait Meta

Mood Scale (TMMS-24) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survery (MBI-SS). The

results of their study showed links between task orientation, high emotional intelligence levels,

and adaptive behaviours and between ego orientation, academic burnout and less adaptive

behaviour.

Ye et al. (2021) studied the effect of social support on academic burnout. Their study

included 503 students. They used a composited survery regarding social support, life satisfaction,

SES and academic burnout and data analysis and investigation of combines effects in the model

were carried out via conditional process modelling. Results of their study showed that social

support was negatively associated with academic burnout.

 Singh et al. (2021) studied the relationship between academic burnout-student

engagement relationships on management students in Delhi NCR region, India. They also

studied the moderating impact of internal locus of control and the mediating impact of loneliness

on the academic Burnout-student engagement relationship. They collected the data using

standardized instruments and 264 people responded. They used descriptive statistics, correlation

and moderated-mediated regression analysis. The results of their study showed a negative

association between student engagement and academic burnout as well as loneliness; and a

positive association between academic burnout and loneliness. They also found a moderating

impact of internal locus of control on academic burnout and student engagement relationship;

and loneliness was found to be a partial mediator for the moderator relationship between

academic burnout-student engagement relationship.

Researches on Burnout and Well-being

Aypay and Eryilmaz (2011) studied the relationship between school burnout and

subjective well-being for high school students. They included 373 students in their study

between the age of 14-17 years. They used the Secondary School Burnout Scale and Life

Satisfaction scale. The results of their study showed that as students' loss is interest to school and

burnout emanated from family increased, their subjective well-being levels decreased.

Raiziene et al. (2014), conducted a study to investigate the cross-lagged relationships

between school burnout and subjective well-being during a period of one year and also to assess

the relationship between these two. The results of their study showed that there was a cumulative

relationship between school burnout and subjective well-being, i.e., high by burnout predicts

subsequent low subjective well-being. Both the variables turned out to be reasonably stable

during the period of this one year.

 Cadime et al. (2016) studied the relationship among engagement, burnout, well-being and

academic performance in Portuguese secondary school pupils. They included 489 pupils. The

results of their study showed that higher levels of Cynicism towards studies were associated with

lower academic achievement; however, exhaustion was not uniquely related to the adolescents'

academic achievement or well-being. Results of their study also showed that higher levels of

engagement were related to higher levels of well-being.

Rehman AU et al. (2020) studied the relationship between burnout and psychology well-

being, and the mediating role of social support and learning motivation. Their study involved 486

participants between the age range of 18-35 years from 3 Chinese universities. They incorporated

Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for college students, Multidimensional Scale of Social

Support (MSPSS), Motivation Strategy Learning Scale and Psychological Well-being by Ryff.

The results of their study found that social support played a significant role between the

relationship of burnout and subjective well-being. Thus, an increase in social support in an

educational context can reduce burnout effects and also enhances psychology well-being.

Philip et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional national survey to study substance use,

psychological well-being and burnout using CAGE, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and

the short General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The survey of their study was open to all

medical students residing in India. Chi square tests, spearman's correlation and descriptive

statistics were used for statistical analysis. They found that medical students go through

exceptional stress when compared to their peers of the same age. Burnout was reported by 86%

of respondents for disengagement and 80% for exhaustion. 70% had a score of more than two on

the GHQ-12, which indicates caseness.

 Wei et al. (2021) conducted a systematic review to synthesize literature findings of

Nursing Student Burnout and its effects on the Psychological Well-being and Academic

Performance. The results of their review showed a negative relationship between burnout and

student self-concept and a negative association between burnout and student engagement.

Researches on Stress and Well-being

Jeyaraj et al. (2018) aimed to assess stress and well-being in association with perceived

social support, academic performance and stressful life events among college students, while

also focusing on gender differences. They studied 954 students from 2nd and 3rd year from an

arts and science college in Tamil Nadu and used self-reported questionnaires on Stress (PSS),

Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Stressful Life Events (ALESS) and Well-being (WHO-5).

They found that well-being was negatively related to perceived stress and positively related to

social support. Female students reported higher well-being despite the levels of stress in males

and females being almost the same. Academic performance was not found to be related with

stress or well-being. Negative life events were found to be related with stress but not with well-

being.

Zarbova and Karabeliova (2018) aimed to find a correlation between the subjective

perception of levels of stress and well-being within a period of six months and also a correlation

of stress with self-perception for feeling of happiness and life satisfaction. The sample in their

study constituted 90 respondents (36 men and 54 women) between the age of 20-64 years,

among which 20 lived alone and 70 of them had a partner. The results of their study showed that

there was a significant positive correlation between well-being and happiness, well-being and

life satisfaction, and also a negative correlation between stress and well-being. Respondents who

lived with a partner had higher life satisfaction than the people who lived alone.
 Mailk et al. (2020) investigated the relationship between stress and psychological well-

being of TESL Foundation students of UiTM. Their study included 222 participants who were

randomly given survey questionnaires and Student Stress Inventory (SSI) and Psychological

Well-being (PWB) scales were incorporated to collect the data. They found that there was an

inversed and moderately significant relationship between stress and psychological well-being

among the TESL foundation students.

Baiju and Rajalakshmi V R (2021) examined academic stress and psychological well-

being among college students, the relationship between them and how these variables differ with

gender. Their study included 80 participants (40 males and 40 females) from various parts of

Kerala. They used Perception of Academic Stress Scale questionnaire and the PGI General Well-

being Scale. Mean and standard deviation (descriptive statistics), and Mann-Whitney U Test and

Spearman’s Correlation (inferential statistics) were used. The results of their study showed the

existence of a significant difference between males and females on academic stress but no

significant difference between males and females on psychological well-being. They also found

that there was a significant relationship between academic stress and psychological well-being

among college students.

Research on Irritability

Pedrelli et al. (2013) studied the correlation between irritability among college students

with depressive symptoms. They included 287 undergraduate college students who had

depressive symptoms either with or without irritability and they were compared across various

psychiatric and functional outcome variables. They used the irritability component of beck

depression inventory as the dichotomous grouping variable and conducted independent sample t-

tests or logistic regressions for analysis of each outcome variable. The results of their study
showed that male and female students who had depressive symptoms and severe irritability had

more severe depressive symptoms than students with little or no irritability. In female students,

the presence of irritability was linked to greater anxiety symptoms but male students, it was

linked to greater likelihood of risky behaviors. Finally, the female and male students who had

depressive symptoms with and without irritability did not differ in terms of hopelessness,

cognitive functioning or suicidal ideation severity.

Research on Subjective Well-being

Hakimi and Talepasand (2018) conducted a study to determine the structural

relationships among subjective well-being, social support and self-efficacy with emotional

exhaustion by mediating academic engagement. The study included 310 medical students

between the age of 24-47 years. The study used subjective well-being questionnaires including

positive affect, negative affect, life satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, academic engagement,

social support and self-efficacy. The results of their study showed that emotional exhaustion has

a structural effect on well-being, directly; and emotional exhaustion also plays a mediator role in

relation between social support and well-being. They also found that social support and self-

efficacy have direct effects on emotional exhaustion and academic engagement.

 Method of Investigation

Research Problem

Is there a relationship between academic burnout, irritability and subjective well-being among

undergraduate students in India?

Objectives

To examine the relationship between Academic Burnout and its dimensions, and

Irritability among Undergraduate Students in India.

To examine the relationship between Academic Burnout and its dimensions, and

Subjective Well-being among Undergraduate Students in India.

Hypothesis

H1: There will be a significant relationship between Academic Burnout and Irritability.

1.1. There will be a significant relationship between Emotional Exhaustion and Irritability.

1.2. There will be a significant relationship between Cynicism and Irritability.

1.3. There will be a significant relationship between quality of Academic Inefficacy and

Irritability.

H2: There will be a significant relationship between Academic Burnout and Subjective Well-

being.

2.1. There will be a significant relationship between Emotional Exhaustion and Subjective Well-

being.

2.2. There will be a significant relationship between Cynicism and Subjective Well-being.

2.3. There will be a significant relationship between Academic Inefficacy and Subjective Well-

being.

Variables

Independent Variables
 The independent variable is the one which is not dependent on any other aspect of the

study and influences the dependent variable (Shergill, 2012).

Academic Burnout is the independent variable.

Dependent Variables

The dependent variable is the variable which is influenced by the independent variable.

Any measured behavioral variable of interest is called a dependent variable (D’Amato, 1979).

Irritability and Subjective Well-being are the dependent variables.

Operational Definitions

According to Shaufeli et al. (2002), “burnout among college students refers to tiredness

resulting from academic demands (emotional exhaustion), having a pessimistic sense and lack of

interest toward academic tasks (cynicism), and feeling of incompetency as a student

(inefficacy)”.

Irritability is a mood characterized by a proneness to experience negative affective states,

such as anger, annoyance, and frustration upon little provocation, and may be outwardly

expressed in the form of aggressive behavior (Craig, Hietanen, Markova, & Berrios, 2008;

Snaith & Taylor, 1985; Stringaris, 2011).

According to Diener et al. (2002), “subjective well-being (SWB) is defined as a person’s

cognitive and affective evaluations of his or her life”. If the evaluations are positive, then the

subjective well-being is high; and vice vesa.

Description of Sample

The sample included Undergraduate Students (N=317; Males = 128, Females =183,

Other = 6) aged between 16-22 years studying in colleges/universities located in India.

Sampling Technique
 The present study utilized a non-probability sample called Convenience Sampling,

wherein the population elements are selected for inclusion in the sample based on the ease of

access. The data was collected through google forms which will be circulated through a variety

of social media platforms. This method is time saving, cost-efficient and helps participants who

live in different corners of the world also to be able to take part. But the method is prone to

several biases as the subjects may ask someone else to fill their form or they may just randomly

fill out the questionnaire. This can lead to faulty results (Adene et al., 2021).

Inclusion Criteria

Undergraduate student between the age 16-22 years, studying in college/university in

India.

Design

The present study is a survey research study and it is correlational in nature.

Tools Used

1. Breso's academic burnout questionnaire (Breso et al. 2007)

2. Brief Irritability Test (BITe) (Holtzman et al., 2015)

3. The WHO-5 Well-being Index (World Health Organization, 2015)

Tools Description

Breso's Academic Burnout Questionnaire (Breso et al., 2007)

It was formulated to measure academic burnout in students. The instrument consists of 15 items

in the three domains of academic burnout, namely academic exhaustion (5 items), cynicism (4

items), and academic efficacy (6 items), rated on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1

(Never) to 7 (Always).
 Scoring and Interpretation. The total score ranges from 0 to 90. Each item is rated on a

seven-point Likert scale (0 = Never, 1 = A couple of times a year, 2 = Once a month, 3 = Once a

week, 4 = Once a day, 5 = A couple of times a day, 6 = Always).

Psychometric Properties. Good reliability and validity of the questionnaire were

reported by Marzooghi et al. (2013). Reliability coefficients for the three domains were

estimated 0.70, 0.82 and 0.75, respectively. The reliability of the questionnaire as calculated by

Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.87 (Omolbanin Rahdar et al., 2019; Mohsen Khosravi,

2021).

Brief Irritability Test (BITe) (Holtzman et al., 2015)

It is a five-item measure designed to measure irritability. Responders are asked to

indicate how often they have felt or behaved during the previous two weeks, including today.

Scoring and Interpretation. Each item is rated on a six-point Likert scale (1 = never, 2

= rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = often, 5 = very often, 6 = always) yielding a score range from 5 to

30.

Psychometric Properties. The scale has demonstrated high internal consistency

(Cronbach's alpha ≥ 88; Holtzman et al., 2015). The instrument is reported to have adequate

convergent and concurrent validity (Holtzman et al., 2015).

The WHO-5 Well-being Index (World Health Organization, 2015)

The WHO-5 is a short, self-administered measure of well-being over the last two weeks.

It is suitable for children aged 9 and above. It consists of five positively worded items that are

rated on 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (at no the time) to 5 (all of the time).

Scoring and Interpretation. The raw scores are transformed to a score from 0 to 100,

with lower scores indicating worse well-being. A score of ≤50 indicates poor well-being and
suggests further investigation into possible symptoms of depression. A score of 28 or below is

indicative of depression.

Psychometric Properties. It has been found to have adequate validity in screening for

depression and in measuring outcomes in clinical trials. It also has high clinimetric validity. Item

response theory analyses in studies of younger persons and elderly persons indicate that the

measure has good construct validity as a unidimensional scale measuring well-being in these

populations (Winther Topp et al., 2015). The WHO-5 showed good internal consistency

(Pattnaik, 2020), with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.858 (Omani-Samani et al. 2019). It has good

validity (Dadfar et al., 2018). The WHO-5 well-being index showed acceptable internal validity

and construct validity with a one-dimensional structure. Studies have shown that emotional

functioning can be measured reliably by using this tool and it can also be used as a screener for

depression (Topp et. al., 2015).

Data Collection Procedure

The data was collected via google forms, which consisted of questions from the three

scales utilized in the study and the google form consisted of 25 questions in total, i.e., 15

questions from the Breso's Academic Burnout Questionnaire (Breso et al., 2007), 5 questions

from the Brief Irritability Test (BITe) (Holtzman et al., 2015) and 5 questions from the WHO-5

Well-being Index (World Health Organization, 2015).

These google forms were circulated to undergraduate students studying in India via

various social media platforms to facilitate the process of convenience sampling. The

confidentiality of the participants was maintained and only consenting respondents were asked to

fill the questionnaire.

 Finally, the responses were filtered after the data collection procedure and SPSS software

was used to analyze the data. The APA standards were followed throughout the data collection

and analyzing procedure, and ethicality was maintained.

Statistics Used

The SPSS software was used for conducting the Descriptive analysis, Mean, Standard

deviation, Normality test and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient will be used to examine the

relationship between Academic Burnout, Irritability and General Well-being among

Undergraduate Students in India.

Results

Table 1.1

Descriptive Statistics for the percentage of participants from all over India

State Percentage

Tamil Nadu 59.3

Uttar Pradesh 2.2

Pondicherry .3

Goa 1.9

Madhya Pradesh .9
 Rajasthan 1.6

Telangana 1.9

Bihar .3

Punjab .6

Jharkhand .9

Karnataka 6.0

Kerala 1.9

West Bengal .6

Chhattisgarh .3

Gujarat 3.8

Maharashtra 10.4

Haryana 1.9

New Delhi 4.4

Uttarakhand .6

Total 100.0

Interpretation

Table 1.1 shows the descriptive statistics for the percentage of responses received from

different states of India, in the current study.

Table 1.2

Descriptive Statistics for the relationship between the variables Academic Burnout, Irritability

and Subjective Well-being

N M SD
 Male Female Other Male Female Other Male Female Other

Academic 128 183 6 43.41 41.44 42.50 14.858 15.749 11.777

Burnout

Irritability 128 183 6 16.78 18.26 16.50 5.707 5.465 6.348

Subjective 128 183 6 11.31 9.60 10 5.157 5.015 1.897

Well-being

Interpretation

Table 1.2 shows the descriptive statistics for all the variables used in the present study. It

indicated the Sample Size (N), Mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD) of all the variables. The

sample size (N) of the present study is 317; wherein the number males, females and others are

128, 183 and 6 respectively. The mean and standard deviation of academic burnout for the entire

sample is 42.26 and 15.32 respectively. The mean and standard deviation of irritability for the

entire sample is 17.63 and 5.61 respectively. The mean and standard deviation of subjective

well-being for the entire sample is 10.30 and 5.092 respectively.

Table 2

Test for Normality

Kolmogorov-Smirnov Shapiro-Wilk

Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.

Male .070 128 .200* .992 128 .725

Female .060 183 .200* .991 183 .349

 Academic Burnout

Other .209 6 .200* .913 6 .455

Total .050 317 .054 .995 317 .386

Male .087 128 .018 .970 128 .006

Irritability Female .091 183 .001 .975 183 .002

Other .240 6 .200* .860 6 .188

Total .078 317 .000 .981 317 .000

Male .067 128 .200* .985 128 .157

Subjective Well-being Female .128 183 .000 .946 183 .000

Other .187 6 .200* .914 6 .466

Total .097 317 .000 .972 317 .000

*. This is a lower bound of the true significance.

a. Lilliefors Significance Correction

Interpretation

Table 2 indicates the normality of the population in the present study. Since, the sample

is large (N=317), normality is assumed.

Table 3

Correlation between Academic Burnout and Irritability

N M SD R

Academic Burnout 317 42.26 15.32

Irritability 317 17.63 5.61 .467**

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Interpretation
 Table 3 indicates that there is a significant positive correlation between Academic

Burnout and Irritability among Undergraduate students studying in India. Therefore, the

hypothesis 1 stating that “There will be a significant relationship between Academic Burnout and

Irritability” is accepted.

The above-mentioned positive correlation implies that when academic burnout is

high, irritability is also high; and vice versa. This could be because burnout can lead to

impairment in personal as well as social functioning. Thus, it not only effects the individual’s

quality of work but also his/her physical and psychological health (Maslach & Leiter, 2016).

This can result in mood changes like irritability, wherein the person may feel angry, annoyed or

frustrated upon the slightest provocation; and the individual may even outwardly express this

irritability in the form of aggressive behavior.

Table 3.1

Correlation between Emotional Exhaustion and Irritability

N M SD R

Emotional Exhaustion 317 16.53 6.746

Irritability 317 17.63 5.61 .532**

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Interpretation

Table 3.1 indicates that there is a significant positive correlation between Emotional

Exhaustion and Irritability among Undergraduate students studying in India. Therefore, the

hypothesis 1.1 stating that “There will be a significant relationship between Emotional

Exhaustion and Irritability” is accepted.

 The above-mentioned positive correlation implies that when emotional exhaustion

is high, irritability is also high; and vice versa. Emotional Exhaustion refers to the feelings of

being depleted of one’s emotional resources (Maslach, 1998). Such exhaustion or tiresomeness

when combined with more academic stress in students may lead to irritable behavior because

they already feel quite worn out and additional stressors can exhaust their patience, hence

making them feel more irritable. They may get frustrated or annoyed upon little provocation.

Table 3.2

Correlation between Cynicism and Irritability

N M SD R

Cynicism 317 11.01 66.07

Irritability 317 17.63 5.61 .467 **

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Interpretation

Table 3.2 indicates that there is a significant positive correlation between Cynicism and

Irritability among Undergraduate students studying in India. Therefore, the hypothesis 1.2 stating

that “There will be a significant relationship between Cynicism and Irritability” is accepted.

The above-mentioned positive correlation implies that when cynicism is high,

irritability is also high; and vice versa. Cynicism in the present study refers to having a

pessimistic sense and lack of interest toward academic tasks. When a student feels pessimistic or

lacks any interest in his/her academics, any academics related task can seem irritating and

unappealing. This could be the reason for the above-mentioned relationship between Cynicism

and Irritability.

Table 3.3
Correlation between Academic Efficacy and Irritability

N M SD R

Academic Efficacy 317 21.28 7.233

Irritability 317 17.63 5.61 -.066

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Interpretation

Table 3.3 indicates that there is no significant relationship between Academic Efficacy

and Irritability among Undergraduate students studying in India. Therefore, the hypothesis 1.3

stating that “There will be a significant relationship between Academic Efficacy and Irritability”

is rejected.

Academic Inefficacy refers to feelings of decline in one’s competence and

productivity, and to one’s lowered sense of efficacy. It represents the self-evaluation component

of burnout (Maslach, 1998). Academic Efficacy, on the other hand, refers to the students’ beliefs

and attitudes toward their capabilities to achieve academic success, as well as belief in their

ability to fulfill academic tasks and the successful learning of the materials (Locke, 1997). The

above-mentioned lack of significant relationship may be due to the fact that feelings of

competency regarding academics is not really related to feeling irritable in general among

undergraduate students. This dimension is related to one’s self-evaluation and a sense of

efficacy. It is not related to one feeling grumpy or angry, which may lead to feelings of

irritability, or even aggressive behavior.

Table 4

Correlation between Academic Burnout and Subjective Well-being

 N M SD R

Academic Burnout 317 42.26 15.32

Subjective 317 10.30 5.092 -.524**

Well-being

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Interpretation

Table 4 indicates that there is a significant negative correlation between Academic

Burnout and Subjective Well-being among Undergraduate students studying in India. Therefore,

the hypothesis 2 stating that “There will be a significant relationship between Academic Burnout

and Subjective Well-being” is accepted.

The above-mentioned negative correlation implies that when Academic Burnout

is high, Subjective Well-being is low; and vice versa. This finding is consistent with previous

studies that also showed a negative relationship between academic burnout and subjective well-

being (Raiziene et al., 2014; Aypay, 2017).

In the learning process, stress resulting from academics, high workload or other

psychological pressure factors may lead to emotional burn-out, tendency to desensitization, and

low feeling of success (Yang & Farn, 2005). Student burnout can lead to absenteeism, low

motivation to courses and high rates of drop-out (Aypay & Eryılmaz, 2011). Hence, these

negative outcomes from academic burnout may be the reason for this negative relationship

between academic burnout and subjective well-being.

Table 4.1
Correlation between Emotional Exhaustion and Subjective Well-being

N M SD R

Emotional Exhaustion 317 16.53 6.746

Subjective 317 10.30 5.092 -.500**

Well-being

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Interpretation

Table 4.1 indicates that there is a significant negative correlation between Emotional

Exhaustion and Subjective Well-being among Undergraduate students studying in India.

Therefore, the hypothesis 2.1 stating that “There will be a significant relationship between

Emotional Exhaustion and Subjective Well-being” is accepted.

The above-mentioned negative correlation implies that when Emotional Exhaustion is

high, Subjective Well-being is low; and vice versa. One study showed that emotional exhaustion

had a structural effect on well-being directly (Hakimi & Talepasand, 2018). Subjective Well-

being is defined as judging life positively and feeling good. Thus, a person is said to have high

Subjective Well-being if he/she experiences life satisfaction and frequent joy, and only

infrequently experiences unpleasant emotions such as sadness or anger. On the other hand, a

person is said to have low Subjective Well-being if he/she is dissatisfied with life, experiences

little joy and affection and frequently feels negative emotions such as anger or anxiety (Diener,

Suh & Oishi, 1997, p. 25). If emotional exhaustion is high, then the individual is likely to

experience the above-mentioned negative emotions, further leading to low subjective well-being.

This may be the reason for the above-mentioned negative relationship between Emotional

Exhaustion and Subjective Well-being.

Table 4.2

Correlation between Cynicism and Subjective Well-being

N M SD R

Cynicism 317 11.01 66.07

Subjective 317 10.30 5.092 -.396**

Well-being

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Interpretation

Table 4.2 indicates that there is a significant negative correlation between Cynicism and

Subjective Well-being among Undergraduate students studying in India. Therefore, the

hypothesis 2.2 stating that “There will be a significant relationship between Cynicism and

Subjective Well-being” is accepted.

The above-mentioned negative correlation implies that when Cynicism is high,

Subjective Well-being is low; and vice versa. This is consistent with previous researches that

show that higher levels of cynicism towards studies were associated with lower academic

achievement (Cadime et al., 2016), and there is a positive relationship between academic

achievement and emotional and psychological well-being (Gräbel, 2017). This means that when

cynicism is high, the student is likely to have lower academic achievement and, in turn, his/her

well-being is also likely to be lower.

Cynicism in the present study refers to having a pessimistic sense and lack of interest

toward academic tasks. Such pessimistic attitude may lead to the student experiencing

dissatisfaction in academics or even generally in life and negative affects like anger or sadness,
thus paving way for a lower subjective well-being. This may be the reason for the above-

mentioned negative relationship between Cynicism and Subjective Well-being.

Table 4.3

Correlation between Academic Efficacy and Subjective Well-being

N M SD R

Academic Efficacy 317 21.28 7.233

Subjective 317 10.30 5.092 .282**

Well-being

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Interpretation

Table 4.3 indicates that there is a significant positive correlation between Academic

Efficacy and Subjective Well-being among Undergraduate students studying in India. Therefore,

the hypothesis 2.3 stating that “There will be a significant relationship between Academic

Efficacy and Subjective Well-being” is accepted.

The above-mentioned positive correlation implies that when Academic Efficacy is high,

Subjective Well-being is also high; and vice versa. Academic Inefficacy refers to feelings of

decline in one’s competence and productivity, and to one’s lowered sense of efficacy. It

represents the self-evaluation component of burnout (Maslach, 1998). Academic Efficacy, on the

other hand, refers to the students’ beliefs and attitudes toward their capabilities to achieve

academic success, as well as belief in their ability to fulfill academic tasks and the successful

learning of the materials (Locke, 1997). Since it is a self-evaluation component, higher academic

efficacy will mean that the individual is more likely to have a higher and more positive
subjective well-being. This may be the reason for the above-mentioned positive relationship

between Academic Efficacy and Subjective Well-being.

Summary and Conclusion

The present study examined the relationship between Academic Burnout, Irritability and

Subjective Well-being among Undergraduate students studying in India. Survey research design

was used. Academic Burnout was the independent variable, and Irritability and Subjective Well-

being were the dependent variables. The sample size was 317 Undergraduate students (Males =

128, Females = 183, Others = 6) aged between 16-22 years, studying in a college/university

located in India. Tools used were Breso’s Academic Burnout Questionnaire, Brief Irritability
Test (BITe) and the WHO-5 Well-being Index. Descriptive analysis, Mean, Standard deviation,

Normality test and Pearson's Correlation were the statistical tests that were used.

Conclusion

1. There was a significant positive correlation between Academic Burnout and Irritability.

2. There was a significant positive correlation between Emotional Exhaustion and

Irritability

3. There was a significant positive correlation between Cynicism and Irritability.

4. There was no significant correlation between Academic Efficacy and Irritability.

5. There was a significant negative correlation between Academic Burnout and Subjective

Well-being.

6. There was a significant negative correlation between Emotional Exhaustion and

Subjective Well-being.

7. There was a significant negative correlation between Cynicism and Subjective Well-

being.

8. There was a significant positive correlation between Academic Efficacy and Subjective

Well-being.

Limitations

Convenience sampling was used for the present study and the data was collected only

from undergraduate students residing in India. Therefore, it is specific and findings may not

apply to the general population. Since the design of the current study was correlational, no cause-

and-effect relationships between academic burnout, irritability and subjective well-being could
be inferred. Furthermore, due to paucity of previous research, other potential intervening factors

could not be investigated. Since current study was quantitative, it does not help obtain more

conclusive results than qualitative data collection techniques such as deep and semi-structured

interviews. Hence, the lack of qualitative findings in the present study can lead to lesser insights

in the current study.

Implications

The present study contributes to the paucal amount of research done in this field and to

understand the significant correlation between Academic Burnout, Irritability and Subjective

Well-being in undergraduate students in an Indian context. It explored the literature gap between

the relationship of Academic Burnout and Irritability. The present study establishes a positive

relationship between Academic Burnout and Irritability, and a negative relationship between

Academic Burnout and Subjective Well-being. The present study is relevant to educational

institutions and other organizations, as it can increase their awareness regarding the importance

of reducing academic burnout and irritability, and improving the subjective well-being of

students. Such awareness can also contribute to the development of interventions to reduce

depression and suicidal ideation among students. Reducing academic burnout can improve

students’ academic achievements as well.

Future Directions for Further Research

The present study has only established a correlation between Academic burnout,

Irritability and Subjective Well-being, which leads a lot of scope for further research to establish

a causal relationship between these variables. Further research to study the gender differences

among the same variables in the given population can also be conducted. Further study could be
done on the causal relationship between Academic burnout, Irritability and Subjective Well-

being using a longitudinal design. It would be a worthwhile endeavour to undertake further

researches to compare these findings with those of other regions within India, other countries and

religions.

Moreover, research between Academic Burnout, Irritability and Subjective Well-being

can be conducted by using qualitative data collection techniques such as deep and semi-

structured interviews in order to obtain more conclusive results. Further research between these

variables can also be conducted among Indian students in 10th and 12th grade as board exams can

often cause burnout among these students.

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Appendix

Table 1

Breso’s Academic Burnout Questionnaire

Never A couple Once a Once A

Once Always
of times month a couple
a day
per year week of times

a day

1  I feel emotionally 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

drained by my

studies. EX 

2  I believe that I make 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

an effective

contribution to the

classes that I attend.

 EF 

3  I have learned many 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

interesting things

during the course of

my studies. EF 

4  I feel burned out from 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

my studies. EX 

5  I doubt the 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

significance of my

studies. CY 

6  Studying or attending 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

a class is really a

strain for me. EX 

7  In my opinion, I am a 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

good student. EF 

8  I feel tired when I 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

get up in the

morning and I have

to face another day

at the university EX

9  I feel used up at the 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

 end of a day at

university. EX 

10  I have become less 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

enthusiastic about my

studies. CY 

11  During class I feel 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

confident that I am

effective in getting

things done. EF 

12  I have become more 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

cynical about the

potential usefulness

of my studies. CY 

13  I feel stimulated 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

when I achieve my

study goals. EF 

14  I have become less 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

interested in my

studies since my

enrollment at the

university. CY 
 15  I can effectively solve 0  1  2  3  4  5  6

the problems that

arise in my studies.

EF 

- EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION = Mean of “EX” items 

- CYNICISM = Mean of “CY” items 

- AC. EFFICACY = Mean of “EF” items 

Table 2

Brief Irritability Test (BITe)

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Always

Often

1. I have been grumpy. 1 2 3 4 5 6

2. I have been feeling 1 2 3 4 5 6

like I might snap.

3. Other people have 1 2 3 4 5 6

been getting on my

nerves.

4. Things have been 1 2 3 4 5 6

bothering me more than

 they normally do.

5. I have been feeling 1 2 3 4 5 6

irritable.

Table 3

The WHO-5 Well-being Index

All of Most More Less than Some At no

the of the than half the of the time

time time half the time time

time

1. I have felt cheerful 5 4 3 2 1 0

in good spirits.

2. I have felt calm and 5 4 3 2 1 0

relaxed.

3. I have felt active and 5 4 3 2 1 0

vigorous.

4. I woke up feeling 5 4 3 2 1 0

fresh and rested.

5. My daily life has 5 4 3 2 1 0

been filled with things

that interest me