Predicting the Academic Burnout of Final-Year Undergraduate Students in the Humanities Based on Perceived Stress and Life Expectancy

Academic burnout in university students results from several factors such as socializing in a larger community than school, new rules, different expectations, assignments and projects, high costs and living expenses, family expectations, and a vague plan for future job. In psychology, academic burnout refers to tiredness due to academic demands and requirements and a decrease in the sense of self-efficacy. Various factors can lead to academic burnout, one of which is stress. Stressful situations can reduce levels of academic commitment and satisfaction and impair academic performance. Students experience constant stress due to academic, social, and financial pressures. One factor affecting a person's adaptation to new conditions in the university is the psychological variable of life expectancy. Hope is defined as a positive expectation to achieve a goal and has a supportive role in controlling adverse emotions. So, this study aimed to predict the academic burnout of the final-year undergraduate students in the humanities based on perceived stress and life expectancy.

The current research is a correlational study. The statistical population comprised the final-year undergraduate humanities students at Tehran Azad University in 2019-2020 academic year. Of whom 220 students were selected by a convenience sampling method. The study data were collected from Academic Burnout Questionnaire (Bruce et al., 2007), Life Expectancy Scale (Snyder et al., 1991), and Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983). The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and frequency percentage) and inferential statistics (the Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression) at the significance level of 0.05 in SPSS software version 19.

The results showed a positive and significant correlation between perceived stress and academic burnout (r=0.559, p<0.001). Also, there was a significant negative correlation between life expectancy and academic burnout (r= -0.453, p<0.001). Also, perceived stress (β=0.45, p<0.001) and life expectancy (β=-0.28, p<0.001) could directly predict academic burnout. Adjusted R2 was 0.37, showing that perceived stress and life expectancy predicted 37% of the variance of burnout.

According to the results, by reducing perceived stress and increasing life expectancy, academic burnout among students decreases.