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It Must have been Burnout: Prevalence and Related Factors among Spanish PhD Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2020

Miguel A. Sorrel Open the ORCID record for Miguel A. Sorrel [Opens in a new window] ,
José Ángel Martínez-Huertas Open the ORCID record for José Ángel Martínez-Huertas [Opens in a new window]  and
María Arconada
Miguel A. Sorrel*
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
José Ángel Martínez-Huertas
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
María Arconada
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Miguel A. Sorrel. Departamento de Psicología Social y Metodología de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Madrid (Spain). E-mail: miguel.sorrel@uam.es
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Abstract

Recent studies in different countries indicate that PhD students are more vulnerable to psychological disorders compared to the general population. No such data are available for the Spanish population. This study addresses this issue by studying prevalence rates and factors related to a common response to prolonged stress such as burnout syndrome. Burnout, emotional abilities, resilience, satisfaction with the dissertation advisor, and sociodemographic data were collected from 305 PhD students. The results indicated that the burnout rates are high in this group, especially for the emotional exhaustion dimension. Different linear regression models explained between 14% and 41% of the overall burnout scores variance and its dimensions. The psychological variables and the satisfaction with the dissertation advisor were the most relevant predictors. Consistent with what has been found in other countries, the evidence found indicates that the mental state of PhD students in Spain is alarming. The results of this study have important implications for the design and implementation of interventions to alleviate this problem.

Keywords

Burnoutdissertation advisoremotional intelligencePhD studentsresilience
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 23 , 2020 , e29
Copyright
© Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2020

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Footnotes

Conflicts of Interest. None

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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