Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2022 Mar 12;19(6):3356.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063356.

Psychological Distress, Burnout, and Academic Performance in First Year College Students

Jaume-Miquel March-Amengual  1   2 , Irene Cambra Badii  1   2   3 , Joan-Carles Casas-Baroy  1 , Cristina Altarriba  1 , Anna Comella Company  1 , Ramon Pujol-Farriols  1 , Josep-Eladi Baños  4 , Paola Galbany-Estragués  2 , Agustí Comella Cayuela  1   2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Psychological Distress, Burnout, and Academic Performance in First Year College Students

Jaume-Miquel March-Amengual et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The first years of university can be very challenging for students. Previous research has focused on the study of the prevalence of burnout and of psychological distress in medical students. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of psychological symptoms and burnout reported by first-year students, the relationship between these variables and their academic performance, and the differences between health and non-health sciences students.

Methods: An observational study with a cross-sectional design was performed. Students of health sciences (medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology), and non-health sciences (biology, social sciences, business management, and engineering) undergraduate programs completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS). Students' grades for the first semester were collected.

Results: A sample of 506 students participated. Prevalence of psychological distress was 27.1% and burnout was 7.3%. Academic performance was unaffected in relation to either psychological distress or burnout. Non-health sciences students showed a greater risk of depression.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence of the high prevalence of psychological distress in the first year of college. Even when burnout prevalence was low, the results suggest the need to introduce prevention programs to improve the psychological wellbeing of these students.

Keywords: academic performance; burnout; medical students; mental health; psychological distress; university students.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Hassel S., Ridout N. An Investigation of First-Year Students’ and Lecturers’ Expectations of University Education. Front. Psychol. 2018;8:2218. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02218. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Knoesen R., Naudé L. Experiences of Flourishing and Languishing during the First Year at University. J. Ment. Health. 2018;27:269–278. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2017.1370635. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Trigueros R., Padilla A., Aguilar-Parra J.M., Mercader I., López-Liria R., Rocamora P. The Influence of Transformational Teacher Leadership on Academic Motivation and Resilience, Burnout and Academic Performance. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2020;17:7687. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17207687. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hakami R. Prevalence of Psychological Distress among Undergraduate Students at Jazan University: A Cross-Sectional Study. Saudi J. Med. Med. Sci. 2018;6:82. doi: 10.4103/sjmms.sjmms_73_17. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dyrbye L.N., Thomas M.R., Shanafelt T.D. Systematic Review of Depression, Anxiety, and Other Indicators of Psychological Distress among U.S. and Canadian Medical Students. Acad. Med. 2006;81:354–373. doi: 10.1097/00001888-200604000-00009. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms