Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction During the Transition to Post-Comprehensive Education: Antecedents and Consequences

The present four-wave longitudinal study, conducted in Finland, investigated the extent to which life satisfaction changed among adolescents during the transition from comprehensive school to an academic or a vocational track. The participants were 15-year-old adolescents (Time 1: N = 687, Time 2: N = 642, Time 3: N = 818, Time 4: N = 749) who filled in the Diener et al. (J Pers Assess 49: 71–75, 1985). Satisfaction With Life Scale twice during their final term of comprehensive school and twice after the transition either to upper secondary or vocational education. At comprehensive school they reported their academic achievement, expected educational track, educational aspirations, self-esteem, and background information, while at the last measurement point they reported their school engagement and attained educational track. Latent Growth Modeling showed, first, that life satisfaction increased during the educational transition. Second, the higher the adolescents’ academic achievement and self-esteem, the higher the level of their life satisfaction during the transition. Third, among girls, the lower their self-esteem, the more their life satisfaction increased during the educational transition. Fourth, among both boys and girls, a high level of life satisfaction during the transition predicted academic track and school engagement at the last measurement point. Finally, among girls, an increase in life satisfaction during the transition predicted school engagement and an academic track. The results support the stage-environment fit theory according to which the nature of the educational environment is more important than the transition per se for changes in adolescents’ life satisfaction (see Eccles and Midgley in Research on motivation in education. Academic Press, New York, pp. 139–186, 1989).     

Validation française du School Burnout Inventory

IntroductionFirst studied in adults, the concept of burnout was recently extended to adolescents in order to evaluate the impact of school requirements on their health.ObjectiveThis study aim at assessing construct validity, reliability and concurrent validity of a French version of the School Burnout Inventory (Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, Leskinen, & Nurmi, 2009) that characterize school burnout by exhaustion linked to school demands, cynicism toward school and feelings of inadequacy as a student.MethodThree hundred and eighty-seven adolescents have filled the translated questionnaire and a confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the data.ResultsThe analysis confirmed the tridimensional structure of the scale and mainly show satisfactory psychometric qualities.ConclusionThis measurement scale should provide clinicians with a rapid and simple assessment of school burnout in adolescents. Researchers could also benefit from it in order to extend theoretical knowledge about this trouble.     

Dark and bright sides of thriving – school burnout and engagement in the Finnish context

School burnout is defined as exhaustion, cynicism and inadequacy as a student, and engagement can be conceptualized as study-related vigor, absorption and dedication. School burnout is increasing, particularly among students on an academic track, while at the end of elementary school almost half of the students no longer find school meaningful. School burnout and engagement were investigated by applying the demand-resource and stage-environment models. The results show that high school demands lead to burnout, while personal and school resources lead to school engagement. Burnout from school-context can also spillover to later depression, drop out and internet addiction, and engagement to overall satisfaction with life and success in educational pathways. In line with the stage-environment fit theory, educational transitions play a role in changes in school burnout trajectories. Adoption of a person-oriented approach revealed several different burnout-engagement profiles, including a profile in which students are at the same time both exhausted and engaged. The social context of peers, immigrant status, parents and teachers also play an important role in engagement and burnout.     

The role of peer groups in adolescents' educational trajectories

The present study investigated whether the members of adolescents' peer groups show similar educational trajectories from comprehensive school to either senior secondary or vocational education, and to what extent their educational expectations, academic achievement, family structure, and parents' SES predict these trajectories. Five hundred thirty adolescents filled in a questionnaire focusing on their educational expectations, academic achievement and family background variables before the transition to post-comprehensive education. They were also asked to nominate three peers with whom they most liked to spend their time. After the transition, they reported the school form they were in. The results showed that adolescents who belonged to the same peer group at the end of comprehensive school shared similar educational trajectories later on. Moreover, family background factors shared by peer-group members predicted the academic trajectories typical of the peer group.     

Cynicism: a differential coping strategy as a function of gender

The main objective of the present study is to analyse the role of cynicism as a coping strategy in the process of burnout, considering gender as a key variable in this process. The sample comprised 555 teachers from Spanish primary and secondary schools. A two-wave panel study was carried out: data were gathered during the first term and again during the third and last term of the academic year. Several t-tests for independent samples and moderated hierarchical regression analysis were carried out. Results showed that women have a higher level of exhaustion than men, whereas men have a higher level of cynicism than women. Furthermore, cynicism has a direct and positive effect on exhaustion for women. In the case of men, cynicism is not an effective coping strategy but it has some buffering effect on exhaustion. Thus, a high level of cynicism seems to lead to a lower increase of exhaustion. Results, contributions, and limitations of the present study are discussed.     

Confidence in work‐related goals and feelings of exhaustion during a therapeutic intervention for burnout: A time‐series approach

This study investigated recursive relations between confidence in achieving work‐related goals and work exhaustion among employees who participated in an intervention to reduce their burnout. Thirty‐six employees of age 33–59 years suffering from severe burnout (28 females and 8 males) filled in burnout and well‐being measures before and after a 10‐month therapeutic intervention. They also filled in weekly measures of confidence in work‐related goals (progress and capability) and work exhaustion throughout the intervention, as well as 4 weeks before and 4 weeks afterwards. Intra‐individual variation was modelled using dynamic factor analyses. The results showed that, for most participants, confidence in work‐related goals and work exhaustion during a given week could be predicted from those of the preceding week. Moreover, high self‐esteem predicted low weekly stability in goal confidence, whereas high burnout contributed to high weekly stability in work exhaustion. The intra‐individual stabilities in goal confidence and exhaustion also predicted which of the participants benefited from the intervention in terms of increasing well‐being and decreasing work‐related stress.     

Middle School Friendships and Academic Achievement in Early Adolescence: A Longitudinal Analysis

Early adolescence is a critical transition period for the maintenance of academic achievement. One factor that school systems often fail to take into account is the influence of friends on academic achievement during middle school. This study investigated the influence of friends' characteristics on change in academic achievement from Grade 6 through 8, and the role of students' own characteristics as moderators of this relationship. The sample included 1,278 participants (698 girls). Linear regressions suggest that students with academically engaged friends may achieve to levels higher than expected in Grade 8. However, when considering the significant, negative influence of friends' problem behavior, the role of friend's school engagement became nonsignificant. Low-achieving girls who had high-achieving friends in Grade 6 had lower academic achievement than expected by Grade 8. In contrast, high-achieving girls seemed to benefit from having high-achieving friends. Implications for theory and prevention efforts targeting young adolescents are discussed.     

话务员成就目标与工作倦怠关系的研究

目的:探讨话务员成就目标与工作倦怠的关系。方法:采用修订的成就目标量表、工作倦怠量表调查270名移动一线话务员。结果:1.掌握目标取向与负性的情绪耗竭以及玩世不恭存在显著负相关,而与成就动机存在显著正相关;2.表现趋向以及表现回避与情绪耗竭、玩世不恭存在显著正相关,与成就动机存相关系数不显著;3.掌握目标取向负向预测情绪耗竭以及玩世不恭,而正向预测成就动机,而表现回避正向预测情绪耗竭和玩世不恭。结论:掌握目标取向的个体感受的倦怠程度越低,而表现回避和表现趋向的得分越高的个体感受职业倦怠程度越高。     

Perceived collective burnout: a multilevel explanation of burnout

Building up on the socially induced model of burnout and the job demands-resources model, we examine how burnout can transfer without direct contagion or close contact among employees. Based on the social information processing approach and the conservation of resources theory, we propose that perceived collective burnout emerges as an organizational-level construct (employees' shared perceptions about how burned out are their colleagues) and that it predicts individual burnout over and above indicators of demands and resources. Data were gathered during the first term and again during the last term of the academic year among 555 teachers from 100 schools. The core dimensions of burnout, exhaustion, and cynicism were measured at the individual and collective level. Random coefficient models were computed in a lagged effects design. Results showed that perceived collective burnout at Time 1 was a significant predictor of burnout at Time 2 after considering previous levels of burnout, demands (workload, teacher-student ratio, and absenteeism rates), and resources (quality of school facilities). These findings suggest that perceived collective burnout is an important characteristic of the work environment that can be a significant factor in the development of burnout.     

Achievement strategies in peer groups and adolescents' school adjustment and norm-breaking behavior

The present study examined the extent to which the achievement strategies deployed by adolescents, and those used by their peers would predict adolescents' school adjustment, academic achievement and problem behavior. The participants were 287 14–15-year-old comprehensive school students (121 boys and 165 girls) from a middle-sized town in central Sweden. The results showed that not only the maladaptive strategies used by adolescents, but also those reported by their peers predicted adolescents' norm-breaking behavior, low school adjustment and low level of achievement: high levels of failure expectations and task-avoidance among adolescents' peers were positively associated with adolescents' own norm-breaking behavior, and indirectly via this, also with their maladjustment at school and low grades. These associations were found after controlling for the impact of adolescents' own achievement strategies.     

学校组织气氛对教师工作倦怠的影响

问卷调查了410名北京市中学教师,探讨了学校组织气氛对教师工作倦怠的影响。结果发现:教师的工作倦怠没有性别、是否班主任、年龄、任课班级数量、学生人数、周任课时数上的差别。在职称和婚姻因素上有明显的差别,玩世不恭维度上,高级职称的教师工作倦怠明显高于中教一级和中教二级教师,中教一级和中教二级教师之间的工作倦怠没有显著差异,单身教师的情绪衰竭和成就感低落比己婚教师明显偏高。在控制了人口统计学变量之后,分层回归和优势分析发现:支持行为和限制行为能显著预测情绪衰竭,限制行为的贡献更大;支持行为、监督行为、限制行为和同事行为能显著预测玩世不恭,支持行为的贡献更大;支持行为、同事行为和疏远行为能显著预测成就感低落,同事行为的贡献更大;亲密行为对情绪衰竭、玩世不恭和成就感低落没有预测作用。     

Career goal-related social ties during two educational transitions: Antecedents and consequences

This study examined adolescents’ career goal-related social ties during the transition from compulsory to post-compulsory education and during transition from post-compulsory education to working-life or further studies. A total of 687 Finnish adolescents aged 15–16 were surveyed of whom 654 also participated at the second measurement point one year later, and 497 three years later. Differences in career goal-related social ties were found according to gender, GPA, family structure, and SES. Moreover, social ties were associated with educational track after compulsory school above and beyond SES, GPA, and family structure. Adolescents who named a teacher or a romantic partner were more likely to enter vocational track, while adolescents who named their father were more likely to enter academic track.     

日记式追踪研究高校教师职业枯竭的产生原因及内部关系

该研究针对职业枯竭研究领域存在争议的两大理论问题——产生机制与内部过程,使用日记研究方法对重点高校教师进行了追踪调查。得到以下结果:1)在枯竭的成因部分:压力感、付出-回报的不平衡对耗竭存在显著正向的预测作用,且不平衡还是压力感与耗竭之间的部分中介变量。此外,二者还可完全通过耗竭作用于讥诮维度。自足资源对耗竭和讥诮均无显著影响,它只对职业效能有显著的正向预测作用,且是职业效能的唯一前因变量。2)在枯竭三维度的内部关系部分:耗竭与讥诮存在显著的正向联系,且解释风格在其中起到调节作用,即越将负性事件归因于外部环境或他人,耗竭对讥诮的正向预期作用就越强。而职业效能维度显示出与耗竭及讥诮相分离的态势,与后二者均无显著的相关关系。     

Burnout in the information technology sector: Does leadership matter?

The aim of the study was to examine subordinates' level of burnout in relation to how they perceive the leadership style of their direct superior. Subordinates (n = 289) in an Information Technology firm completed Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey, and rated their superior on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. High subordinate burnout was defined as high exhaustion, high cynicism, and low professional efficacy. A structural equation model revealed that transformational leadership was significantly related to cynicism and professional efficacy, while passive-avoidance was significantly related to exhaustion and cynicism. Transactional leadership was not linked to burnout. Neuroticism in subordinates was directly related to all burnout components. The link between passive-avoidant leadership and burnout's key component exhaustion indicates perception of negative leadership behaviours is more important for burnout than perception of positive leadership styles.     

成就目标定向对学习倦怠的影响：学业自我效能的中介作用

采用问卷法调查了1139名初中生,运用结构方程模型探讨了学业自我效能在成就目标定向与学习倦怠关系中的中介效应。结果发现：(1) 学习目标定向和成绩接近定向与学习倦怠具有负向联系,而成绩回避定向与学习倦怠具有正向的关联;（2）学业自我效能在成就目标定向与学习倦怠的关系中起着一定的中介作用;在学习目标定向与学习倦怠、成绩接近定向与学习倦怠的关系中,学业自我效能起完全中介作用,且效果较为明显;而在成绩回避定向与学习倦怠的关系中,学业自我效能起部分中介作用,中介效应较弱。     

中学教师职业倦怠状况及影响因素的研究

职业倦怠是职业压力的一种,指在职业环境中,对长期的情绪紧张源和人际关系紧张源的应激反应而表现出的一系列心理、生理综合征.教师是职业倦怠感的高发人群.教师身上表现出的职业倦怠感对学生的成长和发展有巨大的消极影响.以中学教师为被试,采用问卷调查的方法考察教师的职业倦怠状况和影响因素.研究发现中学教师的职业倦怠整体上并不严重;教龄6-10年是教师职业倦怠最严重的阶段;职称是影响教师职业倦怠的重要因素;性别、所在学校是否重点以及是否班主任对教师职业倦怠没有显著影响.     

Extension of the Job Demands-Resources model in the prediction of burnout and engagement among teachers over time

Our purpose was to extend the Job Demand-Resources Model (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004) by including personal resources, job demands and job resources to predict burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, depersonalization) and work engagement (vigour and dedication). The sample comprised 274 teachers from 23 secondary schools of the Valencian Community (Spain). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses have revealed: (1) the predictor effect of quantitative overload on exhaustion and dedication at T2, (2) role conflict on cynicism and (3) role ambiguity on dedication. Lastly, the mediating role of burnout and engagement at T2. Practical implications and directions of future research are discussed.     

Vocational interests of intellectually gifted and highly achieving young adults

Background. Vocational interests play a central role in the vocational decision‐making process and are decisive for the later job satisfaction and vocational success. Based on Ackerman's (1996) notion of trait complexes, specific interest profiles of gifted high‐school graduates can be expected. Aims. Vocational interests of gifted and highly achieving adolescents were compared to those of their less intelligent/achieving peers according to Holland's (1997) RIASEC model. Further, the impact of intelligence and achievement on interests were analysed while statistically controlling for potentially influencing variables. Changes in interests over time were investigated. Sample . N= 4,694 German students (age: M= 19.5, SD= .80; 54.6% females) participated in the study (TOSCA; Köller, Watermann, Trautwein, & Lüdtke, 2004 ). Method. Interests were assessed in participants’ final year at school and again 2 years later (N= 2,318). Results . Gifted participants reported stronger investigative and realistic interests, but lower social interests than less intelligent participants. Highly achieving participants reported higher investigative and (in wave 2) higher artistic interests. Considerable gender differences were found: gifted girls had a flat interest profile, while gifted boys had pronounced realistic and investigative and low social interests. Multilevel multiple regression analyses predicting interests by intelligence and school achievement revealed stable interest profiles. Beyond a strong gender effect, intelligence and school achievement each contributed substantially to the prediction of vocational interests. Conclusions . At the time around graduation from high school, gifted young adults show stable interest profiles, which strongly differ between gender and intelligence groups. These differences are relevant for programmes for the gifted and for vocational counselling.     

企业员工工作倦怠研究:归因的视角

运用问卷调查法从归因视角对企业员工工作倦怠进行探讨,结果表明:(1)采用安戈夫(Angof)f方法得到倦怠标准的界定分数,其中情绪耗竭维度为21分,玩世不恭维度为14分,成就感低落维度为19分;(2)归因的物质环境、人际关系与价值感因子均与情绪耗竭、玩世不恭呈显著正相关,与成就感低落呈显著负相关,而归因的生活态度因子仅与个人成就感低落呈显著负相关;(3)人际关系与价值感因子对情绪耗竭有显著的正向预测作用;价值感因子对玩世不恭有显著的正向预测作用;物质环境与生活态度因子对成就感低落有显著的负向预测作用。     

新三元付出-回报失衡模型框架下护士的付出、回报和过度投入与工作倦怠的关系

摘 要 目的：在护士群体中检验付出、回报和过度投入及其交互作用对工作倦怠的影响,验证新三元付出-回报失衡模型。方法：采用问卷法测查了456名女护士的付出、回报、过度投入和工作倦怠。采用分层线性回归分析验证自变量对因变量的影响。结果：付出、过度投入和付出-回报比正向影响情绪耗竭和去个性化,付出和付出-回报比负向影响职业效能,回报负向影响去个性化,正向影响职业效能。付出对工作倦怠的影响最大,其次是过度投入,回报的影响最小。过度投入能调节付出-回报比对情绪耗竭、职业效能的影响。结论：新三元付出-回报失衡模型适用于女护士群体。