School-Burnout Inventory (SBI) Reliability and Validity Katariina Salmela-Aro, Noona Kiuru, Esko Leskinen, and Jari-Erik Nurmi University of Jyväskylä, Finland Abstract. This study introduces a measure for school burnout and examines its validity and reliability among students in upper secondary high schools and vocational schools by using confirmatory factor analysis. School-related burnout comprises three dimensions: (a) exhaustion at school, (b) cynicism toward the meaning of school, and (c) sense of inadequacy at school. A total of 1418 (709 girls, 709 boys) adolescents from 13 postcomprehensive schools (6 upper secondary high schools, 7 vocational schools) filled in a questionnaire concerning their school burnout and background variables. The results showed that the three-factor solution, compared to one- or two- factor solutions, fit the data best and also gave the best reliability indices. The three theoretically-derived dimensions of school burnout were closely related but separate constructs. Finally, concurrent validity for the School-Burnout Inventory (SBI) was found when the correlations of depressive symptoms, school engagement, and academic achievement with each of the three dimensions of school burnout were examined: The more depressive symptoms adolescents suffered, the more exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy they reported; and the lower their academic achievement and school engagement, the more cynicism and inadequacy they reported. Keywords: school burnout, school engagement, depressive symptoms, academic achievement Introduction Although burnout has generally been regarded as a work- related disorder (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001) it may also be useful in the school context. School is a setting in which students work: Students attend classes and do as- signments in order to pass exams and acquire a degree (Schaufeli, Martinez, Pinto, Salanova, & Bakker, 2002). Hence, the concept of burnout can reasonably be extended to the school context (Kiuru, Aunola, Nurmi, Leskinen, & Salmela-Aro, 2008) and a valid and reliable instrument is needed. This study reports the development of an instru- ment to measure school burnout, the School Burnout In- ventory (SBI). Burnout in the work context is defined as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, cynicism or depersonalization, and reduced professional efficacy (Maslach et al., 2001). Ex- haustion refers to feelings of strain, particularly chronic fa- tigue resulting from overtaxing work. Cynicism consists of an indifferent or a distal attitude toward work, in general, and the people with whom one works; losing interest in one’s work; and not seeing work as meaningful. Lack of professional efficacy refers to diminished feelings of com- petence, as well as less successful achievement and accom- plishment both in one’s job and in the organization. School provides an important developmental context for adolescents (Eccles, 2004). Previous research has shown that adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of school are associated with various adjustment outcomes. Dislike of school is related to internal and external problem behav- iors, and to reduced quality of life (Kasen, Johnson, & Co- hen, 1990). Although many concepts, such as low academ- ic achievement and motivation, poor self-esteem, school stress and tiredness, and internal and external problem be- havior (Byrne, Davenport, & Mazanov, 2007; Rudolph, Lambert, Clark, & Kurlakowsky, 2001; Wentzel, Barry, & Caldwell, 2004) have been used to describe maladjustment at school, only a few studies have been carried out, in par- ticular, on school-related burnout and stress. For example, Byrne et al. (2007) recently described school-related stress, and we have previously described school-burnout as a new concept (Kiuru et al., 2008; Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, Pietikäi- nen, & Jokela, 2008). Following the original theory of work burnout (Schaufeli et al., 2002), school-related exhaustion can be defined as school-related feelings of strain, particu- larly chronic fatigue resulting from overtaxing schoolwork. School-related cynicism, in turn, is manifested in an indif- ferent or a distal attitude toward schoolwork in general, a loss of interest in one’s academic work, and not seeing it as meaningful. Lack of school-related efficacy refers to di- minished feelings of competence as well as less successful achievement, and to lack of accomplishment both in one’s schoolwork and in school as a whole (Schaufeli et al., 2002). School burnout overlaps with some earlier concepts. For example, exhaustion, measured in terms of feeling overwhelmed, having difficulty sleeping because of wor- rying and ruminating, resembles the concepts of stress, tiredness, and anxiety (Bagley, 1993; Byrne et al., 2007; McNamara, 2000). In turn, cynicism and reduced accom- plishment, measured in terms of loss of interest, apathy, and feeling disappointed and inadequate (Spruijt-Metz & Spruijt, 1997), resemble depressive symptoms (Ahola & Hakanen, 2007). However, while stress, tiredness, anxiety, DOI 10.1027/1015-5759.25.1.48 European Journal of Psychological Assessment 2009; Vol. 25(1):48–57 © 2009 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers