Academic Burnout and Psychological Resilience Relationship in Undergraduate Nursing Students in the Eastern Province of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Quantitative Cross-Sectional Study

Rayanah Ali Alghamdi

Correspondence
:Rayanah Ali Alghamdi, MSC, RN.
Community Nursing Department
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal UniversitySaudi Arabia
Email: Raaalghamdi@iau.edu.sa

Received: January 2024; Accepted: February 2024; Published: March 2024
Citation: Rayanah Ali Alghamdi. Academic Burnout and Psychological Resilience Relationship in Undergraduate Nursing Students in the Eastern Province of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Quantitative Cross-Sectional Study. Middle East Journal of Nursing 2023; 18(1): 3-12 DOI: 10.5742/MEJN2023.9378041

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ABSTRACT

Background: Academic burnout has a role in nursing student attrition, which contributes to the Saudi nursing shortage. Resilience increases students’ capacity to overcome academic stressors that can lead to academic burnout. However, no studies have been conducted in Saudi Arabia to investigate their relationship. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between academic burnout and psychological resilience among Saudi undergraduate nursing students.

Method: A descriptive correlation study was conducted using an online survey comprised of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RSC), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) Student Survey, and the socio-demographic survey to collect data from a convenient sample of (n=243) undergraduate nursing students at Imam Abdullah bin Faisal University (IAU) in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Descriptive and inferential tests were employed in the data analysis process.

Results: 61% of students experienced moderate to high levels of academic burnout, and only 17.3% experienced high psychological resilience. A significant negative relationship was found between Saudi undergraduate nursing students’ academic burnout and psychological resilience (r=-0.14, p<.022). Differences were noted in academic burnout (p=0.034) and resilience (p=0.024) based on the student’s academic year, as both increased with the student’s level. Additionally, significant differences were found in students’ psychological resilience concerning age (p=0.011).

Conclusions and recommendations: Psychological resilience serves as a protective factor, as students with high resiliency reported less academic burnout and greater professional efficacy. These findings suggest that efforts are required to create supportive educational settings to enhance students’ resilience to overcome academic burnout and address the nursing shortage.

Key Words: Academic Burnout, Psychological Resilience, Nursing Students, Saudi Arabia.