A recent study conducted by Malin Brueckmann, Justin Hachenberger, and their colleagues has uncovered a significant relationship between self-esteem, burnout, and repetitive negative thinking among university students. The research, published in Communications Psychology, utilized Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to gather real-time data over a four-week period during a demanding examination phase.
Brueckmann and Hachenberger utilized Experience Sampling Method (EMA) to track the everyday experiences of 96 students. Then, they looked at how the increase in self-esteem addresses emotional burnout. This creative approach allowed research teams to collect data as participants navigated through their daily lives. As a consequence, it was able to eliminate the substantial recall bias associated with traditional survey methodologies.
Those results indicate that low self-esteem and chronic negative thinking make students more vulnerable to burnout. This new study highlights the urgency of understanding these dynamics. Equipped with this knowledge, we can better serve students’ mental health during key times of their academic careers.
Understanding Ecological Momentary Assessment
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) allows researchers to assess participants’ experiences in the moment. This approach provides an unprecedented glimpse into their mental states as they attempt to navigate their daily lives. Of note, this approach is unique in its capacity to capture passive data across the entire study period.
Our research team traveled for four weeks, gathering perspectives. They shifted their focus to how students managed test day anxiety, lack of self-esteem and exam related burnout. By using EMA, the researchers were able to identify the short-term impact of day-to-day occurrences on students’ psychological health.
Brueckmann, Hachenberger, and their colleagues noted the advantages of this approach: “EMA allows researchers to collect data in real-time, reducing recall bias.” That is to say, students feel comfortable sharing their authentic voices, thoughts and lived experiences. They aren’t simply based on recollection, which is frequently inaccurate.
Key Findings on Self-Esteem and Burnout
The research has shed important light on the relationship between self-esteem and burnout. These researchers discovered that higher self-esteem has a positive effect on reducing the likelihood of burnout, both within-day and day-to-day levels. More importantly, they found that “Findings indicated that greater self-esteem predicted subsequent decreased burnout.”
Along with this relationship, the team found that high self-esteem predicted lower levels of repetitive negative thinking. In their discussion, they laid out how increased self-esteem results in decreased rumination or repetitive negative thinking. That ability to reduce potential rumination and pre-sleep worry is what makes people feel less overwhelmed.
These results highlight the compounding impact that self-esteem can have on the mental health outcomes of students. Our survey results confirm that developing greater self-esteem has the potential to be a protective factor against feelings of burnout.
The Role of Repetitive Negative Thinking
Through these analyses, repetitive negative thinking surfaced as a key mediator in the self-esteem—burnout relationship. In a first-of-its-kind study, the study’s mediation analyses revealed that repetitive negative thinking mediates the relationship between self-esteem and low burnout. This relationship is true at both the individual and the community level.
As Brueckmann and Hachenberger observed, mediation analyses found robust associations. They found that a considerable portion of the relationship between self-esteem and burnout was accounted for by repetitive negative thinking—both within– and between–individuals.
Furthermore, the researchers identified a reverse temporal sequence: higher levels of burnout led to increased repetitive negative thinking, which subsequently contributed to lower self-esteem. This cyclical relationship means that by focusing on one factor, we can have a positive impact on the others.
Implications for Student Welfare
This study extends well beyond the academic world. It highlights the critical importance of universities to implement programming and infrastructure that cultivates a strong sense of self and counters toxic mental scripts among all students. Making mental health resources more accessible in educational settings can help reduce the burden, especially during critical times such as finals.
Brueckmann and Hachenberger concluded their analysis with an emphasis on stability in self-esteem: “Finally, self-esteem instability partially moderated the associations of self-esteem and subsequent pre-sleep worry and burnout at the within-person but not between-person level.” This interesting finding indicates that protecting stable self-esteem could be an essential protective factor against the development of burnout.