RESEARCH ARTICLE

Academic Burnout Profiles in Korean Adolescents

Jayoung Lee1, Ana Puig2, Young-Bin Kim1, Hyojung Shin1, Ji Hee Lee1 & Sang Min Lee1*†
1
Department of Education, College of Education, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
2
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify specific burnout patterns among Korean students. Using a cluster analysis
procedure and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey, four clusters were identified: (1) distressed group;
(2) laissez-faire group; (3) persevering group; and (4) well-functioning group. In addition, the results of categorical
regression analysis indicated that self-esteem and Grade Point Average (GPA) were good discriminators between
the four clusters. Specifically, students who self-identified as not experiencing burnout (well-functioning group)
were found to have the highest scores on GPA and positive self-esteem. Practical implications for educators are
discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Received 19 June 2009; Accepted 21 January 2010; Revised 20 January 2010

Keywords
academic burnout; Korean adolescents; cluster analysis

*Correspondence
Sang Min Lee, Department of Education, College of Education, Korea University, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
†
Email: leesang@korea.ac.kr
Published online 15 March 2010 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/smi.1312

Introduction South Korea ranks first in the percentage of 25- to

There are numerous studies indicating that academic
issues are generally a main concern of adolescents
around the world and the pressure to perform in
schoolwork is more acute in Asian countries, such as
South Korea (Friedman, 1991; Huan, Yeo, Ang, &
Chong, 2006; Isralowitz & Ong, 1990). There exists a
strong culture of expectation and aspiration pertaining
to high academic achievement in South Korea. As a
result, the South Korean government has, through its
highly regulated and centralized governing system,
attained remarkable educational achievement (Ihm,
2007). In 2009, almost all middle school graduates went
on to high school. Among Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries,
34-year-olds who have completed secondary school
(OECD, 2009). Despite this record of success, adoles-
cents in South Korea are under great academic pressure
due to the competitive college entrance examination.
South Korean students spend most of their time com-
pleting schoolwork and attending private tutoring
institutes (Hakwon in Korean) instead of focusing on
sleep, leisure and socialization activities after school
(Chung, 1991; Lee & Larson, 2000; Yim, 1987). South
Korean students spend twice as much time as American
students doing schoolwork (Lee & Larson, 2000).
Several studies (Han, 2005; Yang, Kim, Patel, & Lee,
2005) reported that even elementary students were
concerned about test scores. Thus, South Korean

404 Stress and Health 26: 404–416 (2010) © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
J. Lee et al.
students ranked academic stress as the most stressful
aspect of their lives (Kim etal., 2000; Lee & Kim, 1996;
Hwang, 2006).
According to the Korea National Statistical Office
(2007), 56.5 per cent of South Korean adolescents expe-
rience stress because of academic problems. South
Korean students also seem to have more negative atti-
tudes towards school compared to Western students
(Diener, Suh, Smith, & Shao, 1995). Additionally, their
perceived academic competence level was the lowest in
a large international comparative study (Korea Institute
of Curriculum and Evaluation, 2005) even though their
achievement test scores were one of the highest among
students in the world. There is evidence that these
excessive academic stressors cause negative conse-
quences, such as mental health problems (Misra &
Mckean, 2000; Shek, 1995). Therefore, it is easily
hypothesized that South Korean students would experi-
ence academic burnout symptoms, such as emotional
exhaustion, cynicism and lack of academic efficacy.
Burnout syndrome has been defined as a sustained
response to chronic work stress (Maslach & Jackson,
1981; Meir, 1983). Maslach and Jackson (1981) further
described burnout as a syndrome distinguished by emo-
tional exhaustion, depersonalization and a lack of a
sense of personal accomplishment. Early studies were
restricted to burnout among human service profession-
als; however, this concern gradually extended to other
fields (Chambel & Curral, 2005; Maslach & Leiter,
1997). Specifically, burnout has been studied in other
types of occupations, such as teachers (Brouwers, &
Tomic, 2000; Evers, Tomic, & Brouwers, 2004; Tomic,
Evers, Brouwers, 2004), ministers (Miner, 2007; Tomic,
Tomic, & Evers, 2004), business professionals (Leiter &
Maslach, 1988; Maslach & Leiter, 2008; Schaufeli, Taris,
& Van Rhenen, 2008), athletes (Fender, 1989; Gould &
Dieffenbach, 2002) and other types of non-employment
domains, such as political activism burnout (Gomes &
Masalch, 1991), parent burnout (Butler & Charles,
1999; Pelsma, Roland, Tollefson, & Wigington, 1989),
and marital burnout (Pines, 1988; Pines, 1996).
Two major theoretical approaches have informed
our study of burnout profiles of South Korean adoles-
cents: the Demand–Control model (DCM; Karasek,
1990) and the Effort–Reward Imbalance model (ERI;
Siegrist, 2002). Both models have provided empirical
support for the conceptualization of burnout as a mul-
tidimensional construct. For example, demand is
related to the exhaustion subscale, and control and
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Academic Burnout
resources are related to the efficacy subscale. Similar
outcomes have been reported with the ERI (see, for
example, Siegrist, 1996, 2002; Siegrist et al., 2004;
Siegrist, Peter, Junge, Cremer, & Seidel, 1990). These
findings led our research team to explore burnout
typologies and patterns of burnout rather than total
scores. The process of burnout has also been established
as multidimensional and correlating to various demo-
graphic and contextual variables (see, for example,
Brouwers & Tomic, 2000; Demerouti, Verbeke, &
Bakker, 2005; Gan, Shang, & Zhang, 2007). Our work
adapts the conceptualization of work-related burnout
to academic settings and students.
Students’ academic burnout also exists since stu-
dents’ core activities can be considered ‘work’. There-
fore, burnout can manifest itself in several ways: by
feeling exhausted because of academic demands, having
a cynical and detached attitude towards one’s studies,
and feeling incompetent as a student (McCarthy et al.,
1990; Meier & Schmeck, 1985). In 2002, Schaufeli,
Martez, Marques Pinto, Salanova, and Bakker devel-
oped the student version of the Maslach Burnout Inven-
tory (MBI-SS). The MBI-SS provides norm-referenced
measures of a student’s academic burnout syndrome on
three factorially derived burnout dimensions: Exhaus-
tion, Cynicism and Incompetence. In addition, the
MBI-SS was validated across cultures in Spain, Portugal
and China (Schaufeli et al., 2002; Zhang, Gan, & Zhang,
2005). Although there are several recent studies on stu-
dents’ burnout, further research is warranted.
Early studies on burnout tend to consider burnout as
a homogenous phenomenon with unitary and universal
terms (Farber, 1998; Schaufeli & Van Dierendonck,
1995). However, several recent studies (Demerouti,
Verbeke, & Bakker, 2005; Lee et al., 2007; Roelofs,
Verbraak, Keijsers, de Bruin, & Schmidt, 2004; Yu, Lee,
& Nesbit, 2008) point to the multidimensional con-
struct of burnout to form the subtypes that reflect its
more consistent elements. Loo (2004) utilized the mul-
tidimensional constructs of burnout in order to examine
burnout typologies in police managers. This study, the
first to use a clustering methodology to identify burnout
types, yielded three different patterns: laissez-faire man-
agers, well-adjusted managers and distressed managers.
In addition, Loo discovered that distressed police man-
agers who have high burnout represented the largest
proportion of the total sample. Loo concluded that the
results of this study might be useful in designing policies
and programmes to support recruitment, selection,
405
Academic Burnout
training and police counselling services. Similarly, Lee,
Cho, Kissinger, and Ogle (2010) examined burnout
typologies in professional counsellors. They tried to
identify the types of counsellor burnout by utilizing five
subscales of the Counselor Burnout Inventory (CBI;
Lee et al., 2007). The results of this study yielded three
different types of counsellor burnout: well-adjusted
counsellors, persevering counsellors and disconnected
counsellors. Results revealed three specific burnout
types among professional counsellors, opening the door
to the development of specialized policies and pro-
grammes that address the unique burnout patterns
among individual counsellors. Likewise, we contend
that a system of classifying academic burnout patterns
among middle and high school South Korean students
could generate specific subtypes of burnout that identify
students at risk for academic burnout. Such a classifica-
tion system could also serve as a catalyst for preventative
and personalized intervention strategies and, when
implemented, result in the alleviation of burnout among
middle and high school students.
To date, interpretation of a MBI-SS score is based on
the elevations of individual scale scores. However, pat-
tern-based interpretation with cluster analysis may
increase the utility of MBI-SS scores by capturing
potential interactive effects inherent in score patterns.
For example, the effects of feelings of exhaustion and
cynicism may differ depending on the level of academic
efficacy. Thus, exhausted students with symptoms of
lack of academic efficacy may function differently when
compared to exhausted students without symptoms of
lack of academic efficacy. If these different clustering
and academic burnout patterns are found, such infor-
mation could be utilized by support services to help
middle and high school South Korean students cope
effectively with the academic stresses of school.
A number of studies have also focused on examining
the relationship between burnout and demographic
variables (i.e. gender, age, level of education, Grade
Point Average (GPA), race and marital status; Lee et al.,
2007). For example, demographic variables, such as age
and years of experience, have usually been considered
important factors that are related negatively to burnout
(Ackerley, Burnell, Holder, & Kurdek, 1988; Cicone,
2003; Lippert, 2000; Ross, Altmaier, & Russell, 1989).
Based on these literatures, Lee and his colleagues (in
press) explored relationships among constructs and
found group differences in demographic variables for
three counsellor burnout types. This research reported
406
J. Lee et al.
that persevering counsellors had higher annual income
and years of counselling experience than well-adjusted
counsellors and disconnected counsellors. Some studies
have also shown a relationship between academic
burnout and demographic variables, such as gender
and academic achievement (Salmela-Aro, Kiuru,
Pietikäinen, & Jokela, 2008; Yang, 2004). More specifi-
cally, it has been reported that male students had higher
burnout rates than female students (Yang, 2004) and
students with low academic achievement experienced
more burnout than students with high academic
achievement (Salmela-Aro et al., 2008). Thus, gender
or academic achievement may differ among student
burnout types as Lee and his colleagues’ reported.
Determining the various burnout typologies and their
relationships to demographic variables may assist
teachers or school counsellors to better understand stu-
dents’ types of burnout, their clinical presentations and
development of targeted interventions for each.
Thus, the purpose of the current study is to identify
specific burnout patterns among South Korean stu-
dents. First, since academic burnout is a multidimen-
sional construct, it is posited that academic burnout
would display a multiple-cluster structure rather than
a single clustering or type. Second, for cross-validation,
it is hypothesized that the identified clusters would
be discriminated by demographic (e.g. gender and
GPA) and psychological (e.g. self-esteem) variables.
Because previous studies (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993;
Vredenburgh, Carlozzi, & Stein, 1999) reported that
academic burnout is closely related to the self-esteem
variable, we posited that the self-esteem variable would
best contribute to the cluster differences.
Method
Participants
The sample consisted of 345 students recruited from
several email lists or groups (e.g. Korean Youth Coun-
seling Institute Listserv). The data were gathered from
various regions of South Korea through a Web-based
survey. After exclusion of incomplete packets, 338 of
345 research packets were included in the statistical
analyses. Males made up 47.3 per cent of the sample,
and 52.7 per cent were females. High school students
made up the majority of the sample at 72.8 and 27.2 per
cent were middle school students. About 36 per cent of
students reported that they fall into the top 10 per cent
in their class. Most students reported that they lived
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J. Lee et al.
with their intact family (84.3 per cent). Eight students
(2.4 per cent) reported that one of their parents had
died. Thirty-two students (9.5 per cent) reported that
their parents were divorced. Approximately 5.0 per cent
of participants’ parents had graduated elementary
school; 7.4 per cent had graduated middle school; 52.8
per cent had graduated high school; 30.9 per cent had
received a bachelor’s degree; and 3.9 per cent had
received a master’s or higher degree. Expectation-
Maximization algorithm (EM algorithm) was used to
manage the missing data.
Measures
MBI-SS
In order to measure academic burnout, the MBI-SS
(Schaufeli et al., 2002) was used. The MBI-SS consists
of 16 items divided into three subscales: Exhaustion
(e.g. I feel emotionally drained by my studies), Cyni-
cism (e.g. I have become less enthusiastic about my
studies), and Academic Efficacy (e.g. I believe that I
make an effective contribution to the classes that I
attend). The answers are given on a five-point Likert
scale ranging from ‘1’ (strongly disagree) to ‘5’ (strongly
agree). Reliability and validity are well established with
the MBI-SS (Schaufeli et al., 2002). According to
Schaufeli et al. (2002), reliability coefficients for each of
the subscale scores are 0.85 for emotional exhaustion,
0.78 for cynicism and 0.73 for academic efficacy. Con-
vergent validity has been established using three sets of
correlations (Schaufeli et al., 2002). In the present
study, reliability coefficients for each of the subscale
scores are 0.90 for emotional exhaustion, 0.86 for cyni-
cism and 0.84 for academic efficacy. Construct validity
was established through factor analysis. As expected, a
principal axis analysis yielded three eigenvalues greater
than unity. More importantly, all 16 items that were
originally hypothesized to be included in the three
factors were retained distinctively. In addition, through
the pilot study, it was examined whether the 7-point
categories or 5-point categories are appropriate for the
MBI-SS items. The results supported the deletion of
two categories and led to a 5-point scale. Categories 3
and 5 were found to be inadequate in fully representing
participants’ responses and hence were deleted.
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE; Rosenberg,
1989) is a unidimensional measure of global self-
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Academic Burnout
esteem, chosen for this study due to its administration
ease, brief properties, readability and documentation as
the most widely used measure of perceived self-esteem
and worthlessness (Owens, Stryker, & Goodman, 2001;
Silverstone & Salsali, 2003). Even though the scale
was developed 40 years ago, continued use of this scale
provides ample evidence of reliability and validity
(Vacha-Hasse, Kogan, & Thompson, 2000). The ques-
tion format is a five-point Likert scale ranging from
‘Strongly disagree’ to ‘Strongly agree’. Originally devel-
oped for the adolescent population, the scale presents
with a Guttman scale reliability coefficient of 0.92
among youth. It has, however, been useful at assessing
self-esteem in a variety of other groups (Mental Health
Statistics Improvement Program, 2005), with test–
retest correlations in the range of 0.82 to 0.88 and
Cronbach’s alpha for various samples in the range of
0.77 to 0.88 (Rosenberg, 1986). In the present study,
internal consistency for the scores of all 11 items was
0.88, which suggests a moderately high degree of con-
sistency across items.
Results
Cluster analysis
All statistical procedures were calculated by the SPSS
12.0 software. First, the three MBI-SS subscale scores
were standardized (T score; mean = 50; standard
deviation (SD) = 10). Using a hierarchical agglomera-
tive method with Ward’s minimum variance approach
and a line chart from the coefficients of the agglo-
meration schedule table, the optimal number of clus-
ters was identified. This four-cluster solution was most
representative of this sample because of the meaningful
interpretability of the clusters and the clear separation
of the group centroids on the MBI-SS subscales. The
results indicated that four clusters of burnout profiles
accounted for 94.7 per cent of the participants (320
out of 338). Of note, the first cluster (n = 80, comprising
25.0 per cent of the sample) had the highest emotional
exhaustion, cynicism, and the lowest academic efficacy
scores in the sample as shown in Figure 1. This
cluster was labelled ‘distressed students’ because the
students in the first cluster felt exhausted, cynical and
incompetent.
The second cluster type (n = 105, 32.8 per cent) was
characterized by low scores on all subscales. Graphi-
cally, the shape is as a flat line right below the means.
The students in this cluster were not exhausted and
407
Academic Burnout
Figure 1 Empirically derived academic burnout clusters as a function of the academic burnout inventory T scores
cynical. However, they felt incompetent. Thus, this
cluster was labelled ‘laissez-faire students’ because the
students in this group were indifferent towards school-
work. The third cluster type was characterized by high
scores on all subscales. Graphically, the shape is a flat
line over the means in contrast to the second cluster.
About 13.8 per cent (n = 44) of the cases fit this cluster
pattern. The students in this cluster seem to be ‘perse-
vering students’. They appear to be exhausted and
cynical but have a high degree of competence towards
schoolwork. The students in this cluster were relatively
fewer than in other clusters. While ‘persevering’ stu-
dents experienced emotional and physical exhaustion
in their schoolwork, they still continued to be respon-
sible and put an effort to study and attain academic
achievement. Finally, the fourth cluster type (n = 91,
28.4 per cent) had the lowest emotional exhaustion and
cynicism and the highest academic efficacy scores in the
sample. Graphically, the shape of fourth cluster was the
reverse of the first cluster. This cluster was labelled
‘well-functioning students’ because the students in this
cluster felt neither exhausted nor cynical and they felt
competent.
Relationship to demographic variables
and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale
Optimal scaling procedure (i.e. categorical regression)
was used to discover which variables contributed to
cluster group separation (i.e. criterion variable). The
408
J. Lee et al.
initial categorical regression equation showed that most
variables were linear or non-decreasing curvilinear.
Although the cluster variable did not exhibit quadratic
tendencies, the criterion variable (i.e. cluster variable)
and three predictor variables (i.e. gender (1 = female,
2 = male), school level (1 = middle school, 2 = high
school) and family structure (1 = single parent family,
2 = intact family)) were defined as nominal in the
following equations. Other predictor variables were
defined as ordinal (i.e. GPA and parent’s educational
level) or interval (i.e. self-esteem) in the following
equations. The optimal scaling transformation plot for
the cluster variable is presented in Figure 2.
There were relatively large differences across the
original values 1 (cluster 1) and 2 (cluster 2). Only small
changes were noted in the rescaled values across the
second and third levels of the original levels (cluster 2
and cluster 3). On the other hand, there were larger
differences across the original values 3 and 4 (cluster 3
and cluster 4). These results indicate that the predicting
variables, taken together, differentiated between cluster
3 and cluster 4 more effectively than they differentiated
between cluster 1 and 2 or cluster 2 and 3.
The nominal nature of the cluster variables and the
non-linear relationship between predictor (i.e. gender,
school level, family structure, GPA, parent’s education
level and self-esteem) and criterion variables (i.e.
cluster) suggested that categorical regression on optimal
scores may perform better than standard regression.
The categorical regression procedure yielded an R2
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J. Lee et al. Academic Burnout

Figure 2 Optimal scaling transformations plot for cluster values of academic burnout

Table 1 Categorical regression of effects on the four clusters

Variables Standardized coefficients Correlations F Importance Tolerance

β SE Zero-order Partial

Parent’s marital status 0.06 0.04 0.07 0.08 0.55 0.00 0.95
Gender 0.01 0.04 0.07 0.02 0.21 0.00 0.93
Grade level 0.01 0.04 0.06 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.94
GPA 0.26* 0.04 0.36* 0.31* 28.40* 0.22 0.94
Parent’s educational level 0.05 0.04 0.12 0.06 0.22 0.00 0.97
Self-esteem 0.56* 0.04 0.60* 0.59* 161.86* 0.78 0.94

Note: * p < 0.01; total R² = 0.44; adjusted R² = 0.42; F(11, 306) = 21.42; p < 0.01. SE, standard error.

of 0.44, indicating that almost 44 per cent of the
variance of cluster group separation was explained by
the regression on the optimally transformed five demo-
graphic variables and the self-esteem variable. Trans-
forming the predictors improves the fit over the
standard approach (R2 = 0.40). Table 1 shows the stan-
dardized regression coefficients. Categorical regression
standardizes the variables, so only standardized coeffi-
cients are reported. The statistically significant and
largest coefficient occurs for self-esteem (β = 0.56, p <
0.01), followed by GPA (β = –0.26, p < 0.01). Gender,
school level, family structure and parent’s education
level were not statistically significant. Standard regres-
sion coefficients cannot fully describe the impact of a
predictor or the relationships between the predictors.
Therefore, alternative statistics must be used in con-
junction with the standardized coefficients to fully
explore predictor effects (Meulman & Heiser, 2001).
The squared partial correlation corresponds to the
proportion of the variance explained relative to the
residual variance of the criterion variable remaining
after removing the effects of the other variables. In
Table 1, the self-esteem variable has a partial correla-
tion of 0.59. Removing the effects of the other variables,
the self-esteem variable explains (0.59)2 = 0.35 = 35 per
cent of the variation in the cluster group separation.
The GPA (11 per cent) variable also explained a rela-
tively small portion of the variance if the effects of the
other variables are removed. In addition to the regres-
sion coefficients and the correlations, Pratt’s measure
of relative importance (Pratt, 1987) aids in interpreting
the demographic and self-esteem variables’ contribu-
tions to the regression. Out of 100 per cent, for example,
the self-esteem variable has an importance of 78 per
cent, followed by GPA (22 per cent). Finally, tolerance
in Table 1 reflects how much the predictor variables

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Academic Burnout J. Lee et al.

Table 2 Frequencies, means and standard deviations of demographic variables and self-esteem variable by academic burnout’s
four clusters

Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4 χ2 Odd ratio Contrastsa

(n = 80) (n = 105) (n = 44) (n = 91)

n (%) n (%) n (%) n (%)

Gender Male 35 (43.8) 56 (53.3) 25 (56.8) 36 (39.6) 5.95 0.93

Female 45 (56.3) 49 (46.7) 19 (43.2) 55 (60.4)
School Level Middle 21 (26.3) 37 (29.7) 12 (27.3) 21 (23.1) 2.44 0.92
High 59 (73.8) 68 (64.8) 32 (72.7) 70 (76.9)
Family Structure Single Parent 19 (23.8) 8 (7.6) 9 (20.5) 11 (12.1) 6.78 0.82
Intact Family 61 (76.3) 97 (92.4) 35 (79.5) 80 (87.9)

Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD) F ηp2 b Contrasts

GPA 3.09 (1.40) 3.48 (1.35) 3.90 (1.37) 4.30 (1.09) 13.72** 0.11 4 > 1, 2
3>1
Parent’s educational 3.17 (0.91) 3.15 (0.91) 3.11 (0.72) 3.39 (0.69) 2.27 0.02
level
Self-esteem 2.70 (0.75) 3.14 (0.66) 3.22 (0.79) 4.03 (0.62) 55.17** 0.33 4 > 1,2,3
3>1
2>1

* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; a Clusters that differ significantly; b Partial eta squared (effect size). SD, standard deviation.

(i.e. demographic and self-esteem variables) are linearly
related to one another. Due to multicollinearity, large
correlations between predictors would dramatically
reduce a regression model’s stability. All statistics of
tolerance are very high (0.93 through 0.97). None of the
predictors (i.e. demographic and self-esteem variables)
are predicted very well by the other predictors and mul-
ticollinearity is not present (Meulman & Heiser, 2001).
Table 2 lists the frequencies, means and standard
deviations for each cluster group on demographic vari-
ables (i.e. gender, school level, family structure, GPA
and parent’s education level) and self-esteem variable.
Consistent with the results of categorical regression
analyses, results from univariate analysis revealed that
GPA differed by types of cluster F(3, 334) = 13.72,
p < 0.01, η2 = 0.11. Self-esteem also differed by types
of cluster F(3, 334) = 55.17, p < 0.01, η2 = 0.33. However,
there is no statistically significant effect of clusters
on other demographic variables (i.e. gender, school
level, family structure and parent’s education level).
The results of post-hoc tests revealed that cluster 4
(well-adjusted students) showed statistically significant
higher GPA than the other two clusters of academic
burnout (clusters 1 and 2). In addition, cluster 3 (per-
severing students) showed statistically significant
higher GPA than cluster 1 (distressed students). For
self-esteem, the results of Tukey’s Honestly Significant
Difference revealed that cluster 4 (well-adjusted stu-
dents) exhibit statistically significant higher scores on
self-esteem than the other three clusters. In addition,
cluster 2 (laissez-faire students) and cluster 3 (persever-
ing students) showed statistically significant higher
scores on self-esteem that than the cluster 1 (distressed
students).
Discussion
Whereas previous research considered burnout as a
homogenous phenomenon with unitary and global
terms (Farber, 1998), new research (Lee et al., in press;
Loo, 2004) points to the value of using a system of clas-
sifying burnout to form the patterns (types or profiles)
that reflect the more consistent elements of burnout.
According to Loo (2004), researchers can use the
derived patterns from a cluster analysis to develop
targeted treatment plans to prevent burnout. Based on
this rationale, we identified distinct patterns of aca-
demic burnout that differentially related to students’
self-esteem and GPA.
Based on the responses of South Korean students,
participants were classified into four identifiable groups:
(1) distressed group; (2) laissez-faire group; (3) perse-
vering group; and (4) well-functioning group. The ‘dis-
tressed group’, constituting 25 per cent of the sample,

410 Stress and Health 26: 404–416 (2010) © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
J. Lee et al.
reported emotional exhaustion and cynicism at the
highest level and academic efficacy at the lowest level.
Students in this group seem to have felt a lack of
competence on academic matters. In addition, they
have the most negative self-esteem and the lowest GPA
among the cluster groups. The second cluster type, the
‘laissez-faire group’, constituting about 33 per cent of
the sample, has a flat profile characterized by low scores
on all subscales (Emotional Exhaustion, Cynicism
and Academic Efficacy). The students in this profile
were not very exhausted or cynical about schoolwork.
However, they felt incompetent (i.e. had low academic
efficacy). It is also interesting to note that these students
reported relatively lower scores on GPA, but similar
levels of self-esteem when compared with the next
cluster group, the ‘persevering group’.
The ‘persevering group’, the third academic burnout
type, was characterized by high scores on all subscales.
Graphically, the shape is as a flat line over the means in
contrast to the second cluster’s graph. About 13.8 per
cent (n = 44) of the cases fit this cluster pattern. Students
with this profile tended to feel competent and respon-
sive to academic matters, even when reporting emo-
tional and physical exhaustion in their school life. It is
also intriguing to note that the ‘persevering’ students
also reported a much higher GPA than the ‘laissez-faire
group’, even though they seemed similar in self-esteem
to the ‘laissez-faire group’. Finally, the fourth cluster
type had the lowest emotional exhaustion and cynicism,
and the high academic efficacy scores in the sample.
This cluster was labelled the ‘well-functioning group’
because of their low scores on the emotional exhaustion
and cynicism domains and the high scores on the aca-
demic efficacy domain. The students in this profile
scored the highest on the GPA and self-esteem variables.
Consistent with the findings of previous studies (e.g.
Maslach & Jackson, 1981), the results of the present
study indicate that students who self-identified as not
experiencing burnout were found to have the highest
scores on GPA and higher positive self-esteem.
Implications for educators
and counsellors
The present study yielded profiles of academic burnout
for South Korean adolescent students with several
implications for educators including teachers and
school counsellors. First, awareness and understanding
of a student’s burnout type could assist teachers and
Stress and Health 26: 404–416 (2010) © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Academic Burnout
counsellors to identify at-risk students and develop tar-
geted prevention programmes to address potential
problems before they emerge. Specific intervention
programmes can also be devised to help students
already exhibiting academic burnout and related issues.
Individualized strategies could target problem areas
(e.g. emotional exhaustion, cynicism, academic effi-
cacy) and help school counsellors organize small group
guidance activities around them. The varying typolo-
gies would require tailored interventions to address
specific issues associated with each.
Distressed students
Our results indicated that distressed students reported
high levels of cynicism and low levels of academic effi-
cacy. Cynicism may be the result of perceived injustices
in the school system or classroom environment. Koo
(2005) also reported that South Korean school admin-
istrators and teachers had more negatively evaluated
the students who performed poorly in the schools.
Previous studies have proposed that the variables
of self-efficacy and fairness impact student academic
achievement (e.g. see Linnakylä & Malin, 2008; Yang,
2004). Thus, to prevent distress burnout in students, as
suggested by Yang (2004), ‘schools should provide an
open and fair environment for students to increase
their academic achievement. Teachers should treat
every student fairly . . .’ (p. 297). Additionally, for stu-
dents who are already distressed, school counsellors can
serve as advocates and mediators when these students
report experiencing conflicts with educators or peers in
the classroom (Hofstrand, 2003).
The distressed group also exhibited the highest level
of exhaustion and would benefit from interventions
that address this issue in concrete, solution-focused
ways (Metcalf, 2007). School counsellors could attend
to students’ level of exhaustion and cynicism through
intensive individual counselling sessions addressing
ways to cope with and overcome both. These students
are also more likely to experience lower levels of self-
esteem, and school counsellors can also attend to this
problem during individual counselling sessions. Dis-
tressed students may exhibit negative attitudes towards
school and withdrawal from classroom activities.
School counsellors can help reverse these trends by
teaching studying and academic skills (e.g. useful note-
taking methods) that invite students to contribute to
the classroom learning experience.
411
Academic Burnout
Laissez-faire students
The laissez-faire group is of particular concern because
although they report low academic self-efficacy and
GPAs, they do not report exhaustion or cynicism. These
students may be considered to be disengaged from
school involvement. Disengagement may reflect lack
of concern with academic problems which may make
them more vulnerable to fail in school. Previous
research found students’ disengagement to be associ-
ated with lower self-concept and belief in themselves
(Linnakylä & Malin, 2008). We also hypothesize these
students may have low motivation to achieve academi-
cally. Specific guidance sessions that focus on enhanc-
ing student engagement would be useful to assist this
group (e.g. see Banks, n.d.; Mendler, 2000). Engage-
ment is ‘manifested by active behavior and positive
emotion’ (Miserandino, 1996, p. 206) in classroom set-
tings. Teachers can help reverse these trends by using
more engaging classroom management strategies
(Mendler, 2000).
Persevering students
The persevering group represents an interesting profile
in that they reported high levels of emotional exhaus-
tion, cynicism and academic self-efficacy. Although
they had high GPAs, their self-esteem level was similar
to the laissez-faire group. We hypothesize that these
students, although performing well in academic
matters, are struggling with emotional issues that
warrant attention. This is consistent with the results
from Lee’s (2005) study, which reported South Korean
students’ academic performance in science, math and
reading ranked at the 1st, 2nd and 6th places corre-
spondingly among the 27 OECD countries in 2002
(OECD, 2003), whereas South Korean students ranked
the lowest in ‘interest in learning’ and ‘self concept in
learning engagement’ for reading and math among the
27 OECD countries in 2002.
Sustained levels of exhaustion and cynicism may
negatively impact academic achievement over the long
run, and we see this group somewhat more at risk
since they have much to lose should their emotional
stressors worsen. In order to assist persevering students,
educators and counsellors can provide added emo-
tional support through peer group counselling sessions
focusing on management of negative emotions and
increasing peer, teacher and parental supports (see
Metcalf, 2007).
412
J. Lee et al.
Well-functioning students
The profile exhibited by the well-functioning group
could shed light upon specific traits and behaviours that
contribute to this group’s success. Teachers and school
counsellors can then focus interventions to help
enhance these qualities in the other three groups, as
appropriate. Following existing peer-helping counsel-
ling and mentoring models (e.g., Karcher, 2008), it may
also be useful to engage these well-functioning students
to serve as peer-mentors and role models for students
struggling with academic burnout.
In summary, identification of distinct patterns of
academic burnout that differentially influence students’
self-esteem and GPA can provide a template for teach-
ers and school counsellors to use when assessing
students’ experience of burnout and related academic
and personal struggles. Effective use of the academic
burnout profiles could range from development of pre-
vention classroom guidance modules to student support
programmes (i.e. programmes specifically developed to
provide interventions known to enhance student aca-
demic success and performance). Understanding and
use of the academic burnout typologies can be inte-
grated into a wide range of educational and guidance
practices aimed at improving the educational experi-
ences of middle and high school students.
Limitations and suggestions for
future studies
Several limitations may have influenced the results of
the present study. First, all instruments in the present
research were self-report questionnaires. In addition,
respondents participated in the present research volun-
tarily and answered questions anonymously. Therefore,
students who may have been suffering from high levels
of academic burnout may have been less motivated to
respond to the survey in this study to avoid painful
issues. On the other hand, those students experiencing
low levels of academic burnout may have considered
their participation in the present research to have little
influence and may have chosen not to respond. Due to
these reasons, the sample bias in the present study is
evident in the demographic information that 36 per
cent of the respondents reported their GPA ranked in
the top 10 per cent of the class. In addition, by includ-
ing only students from a convenience Web-survey sam-
pling, the conclusions are limited and may not be
generalized to all students in South Korea.
Stress and Health 26: 404–416 (2010) © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
J. Lee et al.
Future research could utilize multiple assessments
(e.g. direct observation) to measure the academic
burnout symptoms with a random sampling proce-
dure, thereby giving a clearer portrait of the long-term
effects of burnout in students. Controlled sampling and
standardized measurement procedures would allow
researchers to determine if significant similarities or
differences exist in academic burnout patterns between
the present study’s sample and future research samples.
The final limitation of this study concerns the school
settings. This study did not include school setting vari-
ables. However, school characteristics may differ by
school settings. For example, students in some private
schools have much higher academic achievement and
better resources than those in public school settings.
Future studies may focus on more detailed components
of school characteristics associated with academic
burnout, including diverse types of school settings.
Despite these limitations, the application of multidi-
mensional profiles could help teachers and school
counsellors understand the various types of academic
burnout and, ultimately, their impact on student’s
overall wellness and academic efficacy. In this instance,
the multidimensional burnout profiles help broaden
our understanding, potentially leading to increased
opportunities to design interventions dedicated to the
prevention and alleviation of this problem in middle
and high schools.
Acknowledgment
The authors thank Dr Michael Brubaker, an assistant
professor at the University of Cincinnati, School of
Human Services, College of Education, Criminal Justice
and Human Services, for his editorial assistance with
this article.
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