The Impact of University Well-Being Programs Emphasizing Individual Responsibility for Burnout on Self-Stigma

Abstract

This study examined the effects of university well-being programs’ responsibility attributions of burnout (individual vs. organizational) on self-stigmatization and investigated if individuals with burnout show higher levels of self-stigma. The sample was university students in the Netherlands (N = 125) aged between 18 and 36 years. The study adopted a between-subjects design allocating participants to either one of the two experimental manipulation conditions: 1) individual responsibility or 2) organizational responsibility of burnout. Measures for the self-stigma were obtained using the self-stigma subscale from the Stigma and Self-Stigma Scales (SASS) whereas burnout was measured using Maslach Burnout Inventory for students. Results revealed that higher levels of self-stigmatization are observed when participants are exposed to a university well-being program emphasizing the individual, as compared to organizational responsibility for burnout. However, no moderating effects of the experience of burnout were observed in the proposed relationship. These results add substantial new insights to the current literature on university well-being programs’ implementation which suggests a new area for further research.