Academic Burnout and Problematic Smartphone Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Effects of Anxiety and Resilience

Validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Digital Burnout Scale

Objectives

To investigate the factor structure and verify the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Digital Burnout Scale (DBS) among Generation Z university students.

Methodology

The World Health Organization guidelines were employed in the forward and back translation, synthesis, cross-cultural adaptation, and pre-survey phases to result in the Korean version of the DBS. The Korean version was then used to collect data from 330 university students online. Construct, convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity, and internal consistency were assessed.

Findings

The Korean version of the DBS had three subscales (digital aging, digital deprivation, and emotional exhaustion) and included 24 items. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated adequate model fit indices. Convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity were satisfactory. The Cronbach's ⍺ for the overall scale was 0.95.

Conclusion

The Korean version of the DBS has good reliability and validity and can be used as a tool to assess the level of risk of digital burnout and provide appropriate support and intervention.

Implications

The Korean version of the DBS will serve as a framework for developing healthy digital education by grasping individual characteristics. Longitudinal research is recommended to identify factors that cause digital usage and burnout for various age groups.

The association between problematic internet use and burnout: A three-level meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Burnout has received considerable attention in recent years because of the adverse consequences for people. Theoretical perspectives propose that problematic internet use is a significant potential risk for burnout. Despite a plethora of studies showing a positive association between problematic internet use and burnout, there remains a contentious debate regarding the extent and direction of this association.

METHODS

This study aims to perform a three-level meta-analysis to evaluate the strength of the relationship between problematic internet use and burnout through a quantitative synthesis of eligible studies published until April 2023.

RESULTS

A total of 42 studies with 54,121 participants and 103 effect sizes were identified. The results indicated a positive, moderate, and significant association between problematic internet use and burnout. Furthermore, the subgroup analysis found that this association was moderated by population, dimension of burnout, and the measure of burnout, however, some study features (i.e., region, type of problematic internet use, gender, and publication year) could not explain the heterogeneity across individual studies.

LIMITATIONS

Studies included in the current meta-analysis mainly used cross-sectional designs, which limited the potential to make inferences on the causal relationship between problematic internet use and burnout.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals with problematic internet use have exhibited higher levels of burnout. Overall, these findings develop a deeper understanding of this association between problematic internet use and burnout and have implications for the direction of future research and interventions.

Effect of College Students' Smartphone Addiction on Academic Achievement: The Mediating Role of Academic Anxiety and Moderating Role of Sense of Academic Control

Background

College students are the backbone of future national construction and shoulder the hope of the future development of the country and the nation. Smartphone addiction among college students will not only affect their own mental health and learning attitude, but it will also significantly affect their future academic achievement, academic emotion and academic engagement. However, the relationship between academic anxiety and academic control and academic achievement, as well as their internal mechanisms and boundary conditions, has received little attention. The purpose of this study is to examine whether and how smartphone addiction influences academic achievement.

Purpose

This study aims to explore the mechanistic role of academic anxiety and academic control in the influence of smartphone addiction on academic achievement in college students, and hopes that the results can guide education and teaching.

Methods

A sample of N=2097 participants, this study evaluated the relationship between smartphone addiction, academic control, academic anxiety and academic achievement among college students, and the participants filled in the college students' smartphone addiction scale, academic control questionnaire, academic anxiety questionnaire and grade points.

Results

(1) There is a significant negative correlation between smartphone addiction and academic achievement; (2) academic anxiety serves as a complete mediator in the relationship between smartphone addiction and academic achievement; (3) the interaction between smartphone addiction and academic control moderates academic anxiety, with higher levels of academic control associated with a weaker impact of smartphone addiction on academic anxiety; (4) academic control also moderates the mediating role of academic anxiety between smartphone addiction and academic achievement, demonstrating a moderated mediating effect.

Conclusion

Smartphone addiction had negative direct effect on academic achievement, as well as completely mediating effect through academic anxiety. Academic control moderated the relationship between of smartphone addiction and academic anxiety. This study enriches the research on the relationship between smartphone addiction and academic achievement in theory, and has important guiding significance for education and teaching in practice.

Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Burnout among Medical College Students in China: Findings from a Web-Based Survey

BACKGROUND Academic burnout can affect students' academic behavior and performance and especially damages the careers of medical college students. Medical education systems during the COVID-19 pandemic have met unprecedented challenges that have influenced medical students. This study aimed to explore the effects of psychological resilience, stress, and smartphone addiction on academic burnout among Chinese medical students. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study utilized a cross-sectional design, from March 13, 2022 to March 31, 2022, within the Wannan Medical College, where students completed a web-based survey. The Chinese version of the Academic Burnout Scale (ABS), the 10-item Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 10) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4) were used in this survey. Data entry and analysis were conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 22.0. Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) was used to examine the correlations between medical college students' academic burnout and smartphone addiction and mental health. Binary logistic regression analysis was carried out to evaluate the factors influencing academic burnout. RESULTS Of 3190 medical college students who completed the survey, 1521 (47.7%) had some degree of academic burnout. Gender, being a student leader, grades, perceived stress, and smartphone addiction were associated with the total score of academic burnout. Psychological resilience and adapting to online classes were protective factors against academic burnout. CONCLUSIONS Academic burnout is common among medical college students in China after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is urgent to address this situation to improve the quality of medical education.

Physical activity, problematic smartphone use, and burnout among Chinese college students

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between physical activity (PA), problematic smartphone use (PSU), and burnout, as well as to identify whether there is a mediating role for PSU. We recruited 823 college students (Mage = 18.55, SD = 0.83) from Wuhan, China, in December 2022, including 499 males and 324 females. Demographic information, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) were used for assessments. Pearson correlation analysis showed that PA was significantly associated with PSU (r = -0.151, p < 0.001), PSU was significantly associated with burnout (r = 0.421, p < 0.001), and the association between PA and burnout was not statistically significant (r = -0.046, p > 0.05). The results of the mediation model test showed that PA could not predict burnout directly; it instead predicted burnout entirely indirectly through PSU. Furthermore, PSU mediated the predictive effect of PA on exhaustion and cynicism. In conclusion, there is no direct connection between PA levels and burnout. PA indirectly affects burnout through PSU, but does not fully apply to the three different dimensions of exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy.

Smartphone Addiction Among University Students' During the Post-COVID-19 Era: The Role of Emotional Intelligence and Future Anxiety

OBJECTIVE

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-related psychological symptoms can lead to smartphone addiction (SPA) risk and other behavioral disorders, thus impacting individuals' mental health and well-being. The present study aims to propose a mediation model to investigate the association between emotional intelligence (EI) and SPA, and the mediating role of future anxiety (FA) during the post-COVID-19 era.

METHODS

An online questionnaire including the Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Dark Future Scale, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale among university students from China, was conducted between September 14 and November 22, 2022. Finally, 1,154 valid questionnaires were collected. The reliability and confirmatory factor analysis results showed that all three scales had good reliability and validity.

RESULTS

Structural Equation Model demonstrated that EI significantly and negatively influenced SPA (β=0.211, p<0.001), university students' FA significantly and positively effected SPA (β=0.315, p<0.001), EI significantly predicted SPA in university students, and FA partially mediated the association between EI and SPA. The mediation effect of FA was 0.110, which accounted for 34.27% of the total effect. Bootstrap results furthermore tested the rigor of the mediating effect.

CONCLUSION

These findings broaden our understanding regarding the relationship between EI and SPA and the mediating role of FA, providing new sights for educators on how to reduce the risk of SPA when confronting the ongoing and possible future pandemics.

Problematic Smartphone Use and Its Relationship With Anxiety and Suicidal Ideation Among South Korean Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of problematic smartphone use (PSU) among adolescents and its association with anxiety and suicidal ideation.

METHODS

The 16th cross-sectional, population-based Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey was administered in 2020 and included 54,948 adolescents. We used the Korean version of the smartphone overdependence scale and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale to assess PSU and anxiety. Suicidal ideation was assessed through responses to the self-report question. Multiple logistic regression analyses with complex sampling were conducted to identify the association of PSU with anxiety and suicidal ideation.

RESULTS

In total, 25.1% of the adolescents reported PSU, 33.2% had anxiety symptoms, and 10.9% had seriously considered suicide during the past 12 months. Girls with PSU had a higher risk of anxiety (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.65 to 2.97) and suicidal ideation (aOR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.64 to 1.91) than non-PSU girls. Boys with PSU reported more anxiety (aOR, 2.89; 95% CI, 2.72 to 3.07) and suicidal ideation (aOR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.66 to 1.99) than the non-PSU group. In addition, girls with the lowest household income reported more suicidal ideation than girls with the highest household income (aOR, 3.40; 95% CI, 2.69 to 4.28).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated the prevalence of PSU among South Korean adolescents in 2020. The prioritization of the detection of PSU and the identification of psychological factors may help improve the diagnosis and management of mental health problems and potentially yield significant psychosocial benefits.

Development and validation of a prediction nomogram for academic burnout among Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to screen the potential risk factors for academic burnout among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, develop and validate a predictive tool based on the risk factors for predicting academic burnout.

DESIGN

This article presents a cross-sectional study.

SETTING

This study surveyed two high schools in Anhui Province, China.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1472 adolescents were enrolled in this study.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The questionnaires included demographic characteristic variables, living and learning states and adolescents' academic burnout scale. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to screen the risk factors for academic burnout and develop a predictive model. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to assess the accuracy and discrimination of the nomogram.

RESULTS

In this study, 21.70% of adolescents reported academic burnout. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that single-child family (OR=1.742, 95% CI: 1.243 to 2.441, p=0.001), domestic violence (OR=1.694, 95% CI: 1.159 to 2.476, p=0.007), online entertainment (>8 hours/day, OR=3.058, 95% CI: 1.634 to 5.720, p<0.001), physical activity (<3 hours/week, OR=1.686, 95% CI: 1.032 to 2.754, p=0.037), sleep duration (<6 hours/night, OR=2.342, 95% CI: 1.315 to 4.170, p=0.004) and academic performance (<400 score, OR=2.180, 95% CI: 1.201 to 3.958, p=0.010) were independent significant risk factors associated with academic burnout. The area under the curve of ROC with the nomogram was 0.686 in the training set and 0.706 in the validation set. Furthermore, DCA demonstrated that the nomogram had good clinical utility for both sets.

CONCLUSIONS

The developed nomogram was a useful predictive model for academic burnout among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential to emphasise the importance of mental health and promote a healthy lifestyle among adolescents during the future pandemic.

The more academic burnout students got, the more problematic mobile phone use they suffered? A meta-analysis of mainland Chinese adolescents and young adults

Introduction

In recent years, the relationship between academic burnout (AB) and problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) has become the hot issue of scholars, and a lot of related research has been carried out, but the results are different. Most studies showed that there was a significant positive correlation between AB and PMPU. However, some studies showed that the relationship between AB and PMPU was not significant. While this study aimed at exploring the relationship between AB and PMPU, as well as the influence of some moderating factors (region, age, gender, publication year, the measurement instrument) on them.

Methods

According to the searching process for studies of PRISMA, we searched the related studies on AB and PMPU in Mainland China from January 2012 to November 2022 from CNKI, Wanfang Data, Chongqing VIP Information Co., Ltd. (VIP), Baidu scholar, ProQuest dissertations, Taylor & Francis, Springer, Web of Science, Google Scholar, EBSCO and PsyclNFO. Eventually, 50 studies were included in the meta-analysis, involving 38,488 subjects, with the sample size ranging from 193 to 2,260. CMA 3.0 was used to analyze the overall effect and test the moderating effect.

Results

The result shows that the relationship between AB and PMPU can be considered as a moderate correlation (r = 0.414, 95%CI [0.384, 0.443]), and moderator analysis shows that the relationship between AB and PMPU was moderated by the measurement instrument and publication year.

Discussion

Specifically, when the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale and the Smartphone Addiction Scale for College Students were used as PMPU measurement tools, the correlation coefficients between AB and PMPU were higher. When the publication year was used as a moderating variable, the relationship between AB and PMPU increased over the years. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022347277, identifier PROSPERO CRD42022347277.

The Impact of Undergraduates' Social Isolation on Smartphone Addiction: The Roles of Academic Anxiety and Social Media Use

The COVID-19 pandemic has an adverse effect on the physical health of societies and individuals. One important concern is the effect of social isolation on the mental health of undergraduates, such as academic anxiety, smartphone addiction and other social psychological problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations among undergraduates' social isolation in this special context, social media use for obtaining information about the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., communicative and non-communicative), academic anxiety, and smartphone addiction. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May to June in 2022 and a total of 388 undergraduates were included. The results showed significant positive associations between social isolation and smartphone addiction and academic anxiety. Furthermore, academic anxiety played a mediating role in the effect of social isolation on smartphone addiction, which was moderated by non-communicative social media use. Some theoretical and practical implications as well as research limitations are discussed.

The impact of social support and stress on academic burnout among medical students in online learning: The mediating role of resilience

Background

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, online learning and long-term isolation from social and clinical settings has exacerbated mental health problems and symptoms of academic burnout among medical students. However, few studies have discussed symptoms of academic burnout as a result of reduced social support, and increased stress among medical students during the process of online learning. To fill this gap, this study investigated the influencing factors and mechanism of academic burnout in medical students' online learning process. Both the positive inhibition effect of positive factors such as social support, and the negative aggravation effect of negative factors such as stress were explored, while the mediating and protecting role of resilience is also discussed.

Method

We collected survey data from a total of 817 medical students from a medical school in China who participated in online learning during the fall 2021 semester. An online questionnaire was sent to the students in January, 2022. Items adapted from the DASS Scale developed by Lovibond and Lovibond were used to measure medical students' stress levels. The perceived social support of medical students was assessed by the Gregory MSPSS. Resilience was evaluated by the 10-Item Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Items from the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey (MBI-SS) were used to calculate students' academic burnout. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, hierarchical linear regression analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the collected data.

Results

The results identified that in the context of online learning there was a positive correlation between medical students' stress and academic burnout, and their resilience played a partial mediating role. However, social support did not directly affect academic burnout, but inhibited the prevalence of academic burnout through resilience. In addition, stress was negatively related to resilience, while social support was positively related to resilience. Resilience was found to be negatively related to medical students' academic burnout in online learning.

Conclusion

The results of this study can provide a reference for the future development of appropriate educational strategies and coping measures to ameliorate the academic burnout of medical students.

Stress, academic burnout, smartphone use types and problematic smartphone use: The moderation effects of resilience

Few studies have investigated stress in association with social and process smartphone use and how these types of use influence problematic smartphone use during the COVID-19 pandemic; furthermore, the moderation effects of resilience have been rarely tested in this model. For these, a cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 766 Chinese undergraduate students (74.4% female; M = 20.1 years, SD = 1.15) who were measured with their levels of stress, academic burnout, smartphone use types (social/process smartphone use), resilience, and problematic smartphone use. Based on the I-PACE theory, we built a structural equation model, and the results indicated that compared with social smartphone use, process smartphone use more related to problematic smartphone use; academic burnout fully mediated between stress and process smartphone use, and between stress and problematic smartphone use. Moreover, resilience moderated between stress and academic burnout, between academic burnout and process smartphone use, and between academic burnout and problematic smartphone use. We discuss the process smartphone use as a key indicator of problematic smartphone use and the role of academic burnout for linking stress and smartphone use behaviors. In addition, interventions for enhancing resilience should be launched in the future.

Associations Between Online Learning, Smartphone Addiction Problems, and Psychological Symptoms in Chinese College Students After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

Smartphone-based online education gained popularity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Although recent studies have highlighted the association between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and mental health symptoms, the potential role of online learning in this relationship remains unclear. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between higher education modes, PSU, and related psychological symptoms in university students.

Methods

A total of 1,629 Chinese university students from five provinces completed a web-based questionnaire survey between March 2020 and October 2021. Demographic characteristics and learning conditions were recorded. All participants completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version, Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and Athens Insomnia Scale. Multiple regressions models and stratified analyses were used to examine the association between online education mode, PSU, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

Results

The prevalence of PSU was 58.5%. Students who relied primarily on online learning had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms (29.95% vs. 22.24%), anxiety symptoms (25.13% vs. 18.91%), and insomnia symptoms (75.89% vs. 70.27%) than those who relied on traditional face-to-face learning (Ps < 0.05). After adjusting for covariates, subjects with PSU were more likely to report depressive symptoms (AdjOR = 3.14, 95% CI = 2.26–4.37), anxiety symptoms (AdjOR = 3.73, 95% CI = 2.13–4.59), and insomnia symptoms (AdjOR = 2.96, 95% CI = 2.23–3.92) than those without PSU. Furthermore, the associations of PSU with depressive symptoms (OR = 4.66 vs. 2.33, P for interaction = 0.015) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 6.05 vs. 2.94, P for interaction = 0.021) were more pronounced in the online learning group.

Conclusion

Our study provides preliminary evidence that Chinese university students have serious smartphone addiction problems, which are associated with depressive, anxiety, and insomnia symptoms. Online learning is found to exacerbate PSU and mental health problems. Our findings provide valuable information for targeted psychological interventions in the post-COVID-19 era.

Marital Status and Gender Differences as Key Determinants of COVID-19 Impact on Wellbeing, Job Satisfaction and Resilience in Health Care Workers and Staff Working in Academia in the UK During the First Wave of the Pandemic

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global public health crisis that continues to exert immense pressure on healthcare and related professional staff and services. The impact on staff wellbeing is likely to be influenced by a combination of modifiable and non-modifiable factors.

Objectives

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the self-reported wellbeing, resilience, and job satisfaction of National Health Service (NHS) and university staff working in the field of healthcare and medical research.

Methods

We conducted a cross sectional survey of NHS and UK university staff throughout the COVID-19 pandemic between May-November 2020. The anonymous and voluntary survey was disseminated through social media platforms, and via e-mail to members of professional and medical bodies. The data was analyzed using descriptive and regression (R) statistics.

Results

The enjoyment of work and satisfaction outside of work was significantly negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for all of staff groups independent of other variables. Furthermore, married women reporting significantly lower wellbeing than married men (P = 0.028). Additionally, the wellbeing of single females was significantly lower than both married women and men (P = 0.017 and P < 0.0001, respectively). Gender differences were also found in satisfaction outside of work, with women reporting higher satisfaction than men before the COVID-19 pandemic (P = 0.0002).

Conclusion

Our study confirms that the enjoyment of work and general satisfaction of staff members has been significantly affected by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, being married appears to be a protective factor for wellbeing and resilience but the effect may be reversed for life satisfaction outside work. Our survey highlights the critical need for further research to examine gender differences using a wider range of methods.