Stress and cognitive appraisal in university students: explaining burnout over time

This study explored the experience of students' burnout across time, aiming to analyze the possible differential impact of stress and cognitive appraisal on burnout. In addition, it investigated the possible mediation effect of cognitive appraisal on the relationship between stress and burnout. The study included 175 university students aged between 17 and 42 years old (M = 21.19 years; SD = 3.95), of which 155 were female (89%) and 18 were male (10%). We collected data in three different moments (Mt) through the following evaluation proto- col: Mt1 included a Sociodemographic Questionnaire, the Student Stress Questionnaire, the Cognitive Appraisal Scale, and the Reduced COPE inventory; Mt2 and Mt3 included the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. We used structural equation modeling analysis to test the hypotheses. The structural models tested indicated that the partial mediation model presented the best-fit indices, showing that stress and cognitive appraisal were predictors of burnout and that cognitive appraisal mediated that relationship. In sum, the results confirm the dynamic and chronic effect of academic stress on the experience of burnout over time. So, students and educators should be aware of academic stressors and pedagogical and life skills training programs implemented to provide better coping strategies to control burnout experiences.