Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

When Insecure Self-Worth Drains Students’ Energy: Academic Contingent Self-Esteem and Parents’ and Teachers’ Perceived Conditional Regard as Predictors of School Burnout

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Whereas both the family and school environment have been suggested to affect school burnout risks, the role of conditionally regarding parenting or teaching, in which affection is granted conditional on student achievement, in the development of school burnout has not yet been examined. This longitudinal study investigated students’ academic contingent self-esteem and parental and teacher conditional regard as antecedents of school burnout. The study sample consisted of Flemish early adolescents (n = 3409; Mage = 12.4 years (SD = 0.49) at the first measurement occasion; 50.3% males), which were surveyed twice (start of Grade 7 and Grade 8). Using Latent Change Modeling, academic contingent self-esteem was found to predict school burnout. Parental and teacher conditional regard both contributed to school burnout, partly through academic contingent self-esteem. Whereas negative conditional regard had the strongest implications for school burnout, positive conditional regard contributed most strongly to contingent self-esteem. Associations were systematically found both at the between-student level (i.e., high levels of antecedents were related to high levels of school burnout) and at the within-student level (i.e., increases in antecedents over time were related to concomitant increases in school burnout). These findings emphasize that communicating conditional approval to adolescents may increase school burnout risks, thus jeopardizing their healthy academic development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In the second and fourth wave, no measures capturing parental conditional regard were collected.

  2. In Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), about 85–90% of the students start secondary education in the regular stream with a large common core. A minority of students attend either special needs education or a vocationally preparatory track, which caters for students that did not successfully complete primary school and prepares for vocational education. In the present study, only students from the regular stream were recruited.

  3. In Flanders (Belgium), families receive financial support for children attending school when the family income is under a certain limit (depending on family size).

References

  • Aelterman, N., Vansteenkiste, M., Van den Berghe, L., De Meyer, J., & Haerens, L. (2014). Fostering a need-supportive teaching style: Intervention effects on physical education teachers’ beliefs and teaching behaviors. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 36(6), 595–609.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, E. S., Grolnick, W. S., & Córdova, J. V. (2019). Evaluating a self-determination theory-based preventive parenting consultation: The parent check-in. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28, 732–743. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-01309-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Assor, A., & Tal, K. (2012). When parents’ affection depends on child’s achievement: Parental conditional positive regard, self-aggrandizement, shame and coping in adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 35(2), 249–260.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Assor, A., Roth, G., & Deci, E. L. (2004). The emotional costs of parents’ conditional regard: A self‐determination theory analysis. Journal of Personality, 72(1), 47–88.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Assor, A., Vansteenkiste, M., & Kaplan, A. (2009). Identified versus introjected approach and introjected avoidance motivations in school and in sports: The limited benefits of self-worth strivings. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(2), 482–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aunola, K., Sorkkila, M., Viljaranta, J., Tolvanen, A., & Ryba, T. V. (2018). The role of parental affection and psychological control in adolescent athletes’ symptoms of school and sport burnout during the transition to upper secondary school. Journal of Adolescence, 69, 140–149.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bartholomew, K. J., Ntoumanis, N., Mouratidis, A., Katartzi, E., Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C., & Vlachopoulos, S. (2018). Beware of your teaching style: A school-year long investigation of controlling teaching and student motivational experiences. Learning and Instruction, 53, 50–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bask, M., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2013). Burned out to drop out: Exploring the relationship between school burnout and school dropout. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 28(2), 511–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blom, V. (2012). Contingent self-esteem, stressors and burnout in working women and men. Work, 43(2), 123–131.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boncquet, M., Soenens, B., Verschueren, K., Lavrijsen, J., Flamant, N., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2020). Killing two birds with one stone: The role of motivational resources in predicting changes in achievement and school well-being beyond intelligence. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 63, 101905.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brummelman, E., Thomaes, S., Walton, G. M., Poorthuis, A. M., Overbeek, G., Orobio de Castro, B., & Bushman, B. J. (2014). Unconditional regard buffers children’s negative self-feelings. Pediatrics, 134(6), 1119–1126.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 14(3), 464–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheon, S. H., & Reeve, J. (2015). A classroom-based intervention to help teachers decrease students’ amotivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 40, 99–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, R., Moed, A., Shoshani, A., Roth, G., & Kanat-Maymon, Y. (2020). Teachers’ conditional regard and students’ need satisfaction and agentic engagement: a multilevel motivation mediation model. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49(4), 790–803.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., & Knight, K. M. (2005). Contingencies of self-worth. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(4), 200–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., Karpinski, A., Quinn, D. M., & Chase, S. K. (2003). When grades determine self-worth: consequences of contingent self-worth for male and female engineering and psychology majors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(3), 507.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Curran, P. J., & Bauer, D. J. (2011). The disaggregation of within-person and between-person effects in longitudinal models of change. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 583.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Curran, T. (2018). Parental conditional regard and the development of perfectionism in adolescent athletes: The mediating role of competence contingent self-worth. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 7(3), 284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlin, M., Joneborg, N., & Runeson, B. (2007). Performance-based self-esteem and burnout in a cross-sectional study of medical students. Medical Teacher, 29(1), 43–48.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • David, A. (2010). Examining the relationship of personality and burnout in college students: The role of academic motivation. Educational Measurement and Evaluation Review, 1, 90–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duineveld, J. J., Parker, P. D., Ryan, R. M., Ciarrochi, J., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2017). The link between perceived maternal and paternal autonomy support and adolescent well-being across three major educational transitions. Developmental Psychology, 53(10), 1978–1994. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000364.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Midgley, C., Wigeld, A., Buchanan, C. M., Reuman, D., & Flanagan, C. (1993). The impact of stage-environment on young adolescents experiences in schools and in families. American Psychologist, 48(2), 90–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, D., Borriello, G. A., & Field, A. P. (2018). A review of the academic and psychological impact of the transition to secondary education. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(1482). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01482.

  • Fairlamb, S. (2022). We need to talk about self-esteem: The effect of contingent self-worth on student achievement and well-being. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 8(1), 45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froiland, J. M. (2015). Parents’ weekly descriptions of autonomy supportive communication: Promoting children’s motivation to learn and positive emotions. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(1), 117–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garn, A. C., & Jolly, J. L. (2015). A model of parental achievement-oriented psychological control in academically gifted students. High Ability Studies, 26(1), 105–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gewirtz, J. L., & Peláez-Nogueras, M. (1991). Proximal mechanisms underlying the acquisition of moral behavior patterns. In W. M. Kurtines & J. L. Gewirtz (Eds.), Handbook of moral behavior and development, Vol. 1. Theory; Vol. 2. Research; Vol. 3. Application (pp. 153–182). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  • Haines, J. E., & Schutte, N. S. (2022). Parental conditional regard: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 1–29.

  • Hampel, P., & Petermann, F. (2005). Age and gender effects on coping in children and adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(2), 73–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrmann, J., Koeppen, K., & Kessels, U. (2019). Do girls take school too seriously? Investigating gender differences in school burnout from a self-worth perspective. Learning and Individual Differences, 69, 150–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hertzog, C., & Nesselroade, J. R. (2003). Assessing psychological change in adulthood: An overview of methodological issues. Psychology and Aging, 18(4), 639.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, A. P., & Curran, T. (2016). Multidimensional perfectionism and burnout: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 20(3), 269–288.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Howardson, G. N., Karim, M. N., & Horn, R. G. (2017). The latent change score model: A more flexible approach to modeling time in self-regulated learning. Journal of Business and Psychology, 32(3), 317–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Itzhaki-Braun, Y., Itzhaky, H., & Yablon, Y. B. (2020). Predictors of high-school dropout among Ultraorthodox Jewish youth. Frontiers in Psychology, 1911.

  • van der Kaap-Deeder, J., Wouters, S., Verschueren, K., Briers, V., Deeren, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2016). The pursuit of self-esteem and its motivational implications. Psychologica Belgica, 56(2), 143.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, H. (2018). Teachers’ autonomy support, autonomy suppression and conditional negative regard as predictors of optimal learning experience among high-achieving Bedouin students. Social Psychology of Education, 21(1), 223–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling: Guilford Publications.

  • Kljajic, K., Gaudreau, P., & Franche, V. (2017). An investigation of the 2× 2 model of perfectionism with burnout, engagement, self-regulation, and academic achievement. Learning and Individual Differences, 57, 103–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korhonen, J., Linnanmäki, K., & Aunio, P. (2014). Learning difficulties, academic well-being and educational dropout: A person-centered approach. Learning and Individual Differences, 31, 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, Y., Wang, Z., Zhang, H., Chen, A., & Quan, S. (2016). The effect of perfectionism on school burnout among adolescence: The mediator of self-esteem and coping style. Personality and Individual Differences, 88, 202–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madigan, D. J., & Curran, T. (2021). Does burnout affect academic achievement? A meta-analysis of over 100,000 students. Educational Psychology Review, 33(2), 387–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magez, W., Tierens, M., Van Huynegem, J., Van Parijs, K., Decaluwé, V., & Bos, A. (2015). CoVaT-CHC Basisversie: Cognitieve vaardigheidstest volgens het CHC-model. Antwerp: Thomas More.

  • Makri-Botsari, E. (2015). Adolescents’ unconditional acceptance by parents and teachers and educational outcomes: A structural model of gender differences. Journal of Adolescence, 43, 50–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 397–422.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orth, U., Robins, R. W., & Soto, C. J. (2010). Tracking the trajectory of shame, guilt, and pride across the life span. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(6), 1061.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Otterpohl, N., Bruch, S., Stiensmeier‐Pelster, J., Steffgen, T., Schöne, C., & Schwinger, M. (2021). Clarifying the connection between parental conditional regard and contingent self‐esteem: An examination of cross‐lagged relations in early adolescence. Journal of Personality, 89(5), 986–997.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paloș, R., Maricuţoiu, L. P., & Costea, I. (2019). Relations between academic performance, student engagement and student burnout: A cross-lagged analysis of a two-wave study. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 60, 199–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parviainen, M., Aunola, K., Torppa, M., Lerkkanen, M. K., Poikkeus, A. M., & Vasalampi, K. (2021). Early antecedents of school burnout in upper secondary education: A five-year longitudinal study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(2), 231–245.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pianta, R. C., Stuhlman, M. W., & Hamre, B. K. (2002). How schools can do better: Fostering stronger connections between teachers and students. New Directions for Youth Development, 93, 91–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quin, D., Heerde, J. A., & Toumbourou, J. W. (2018). Teacher support within an ecological model of adolescent development: Predictors of school engagement. Journal of School Psychology, 69, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2018.04.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raufelder, D., Hoferichter, F., Ringeisen, T., Regner, N., & Jacke, C. (2015). The perceived role of parental support and pressure in the interplay of test anxiety and school engagement among adolescents: Evidence for gender-specific relations. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(12), 3742–3756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roorda, D. L., Koomen, H. M., Spilt, J. L., & Oort, F. J. (2011). The influence of affective teacher–student relationships on students’ school engagement and achievement: A meta-analytic approach. Review of Educational Research, 81(4), 493–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, G., Kanat‐Maymon, Y., & Assor, A. (2016). The role of unconditional parental regard in autonomy‐supportive parenting. Journal of Personality, 84(6), 716–725.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, G., Assor, A., Niemiec, C. P., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2009). The emotional and academic consequences of parental conditional regard: Comparing conditional positive regard, conditional negative regard, and autonomy support as parenting practices. Developmental Psychology, 45(4), 1119.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salmela-Aro, K. (2017). Dark and bright sides of thriving–school burnout and engagement in the Finnish context. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 14(3), 337–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmela-Aro, K., & Tynkkynen, L. (2012). Gendered pathways in school burnout among adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 35(4), 929–939.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salmela-Aro, K., Kiuru, N., Pietikäinen, M., & Jokela, J. (2008). Does school matter? The role of school context in adolescents’ school-related burnout. European Psychologist, 13(1), 12–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmela-Aro, K., Kiuru, N., Leskinen, E., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2009). School Burnout Inventory: reliability and validity. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25(1), 48–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmela-Aro, K., Moeller, J., Schneider, B., Spicer, J., & Lavonen, J. (2016). Integrating the light and dark sides of student engagement using person-oriented and situation-specific approaches. Learning and Instruction, 43, 61–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmela-Aro, K., Tang, X., Upadyaya, K. (2022). Study demands-resources model of student engagement and burnout. In: Reschly, A.L., Christenson, S.L. (eds) Handbook of research on student engagement. Springer, Cham.

  • Scherrer, V., & Preckel, F. (2019). Development of motivational variables and self-esteem during the school career: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Review of Educational Research, 89(2), 211–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shih, S.-S. (2015). An investigation into academic burnout among Taiwanese adolescents from the self-determination theory perspective. Social Psychology of Education, 18(1), 201–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skodova, Z., & Lajciakova, P. (2013). The effect of personality traits and psychosocial training on burnout syndrome among healthcare students. Nurse Education Today, 33(11), 1311–1315.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Slivar, B. (2001). The syndrome of burnout, self-image, and anxiety with grammar school students. Horizons of Psychology, 10(2), 21–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, K. E., Carrig, M. M., & Linnenbrink-Garcia, L. (2019). Developmental pathways in underachievement. Applied Developmental Science, 1–19.

  • Söderholm, F., Lappalainen, K., Holopainen, L., & Viljaranta, J. (2022). The development of school burnout in general upper secondary education: the role of support and schoolwork difficulties. Educational Psychology, 1–19.

  • Steffgen, S. T., Soenens, B., Otterpohl, N., Schwinger, M., & Stiensmeier-Pelster, J. (2022). Latent profiles of parental academic conditional positive and negative regard. Parenting, 1–35.

  • Strati, A. D., Schmidt, J. A., & Maier, K. S. (2017). Perceived challenge, teacher support, and teacher obstruction as predictors of student engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(1), 131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang, L., Zhang, F., Yin, R., & Fan, Z. (2021). Effect of interventions on learning burnout: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 645662.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vansteenkiste, M., Smeets, S., Soenens, B., Lens, W., Matos, L., & Deci, E. L. (2010). Autonomous and controlled regulation of performance-approach goals: Their relations to perfectionism and educational outcomes. Motivation and Emotion, 34(4), 333–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vermulst, A. A., & Gerris, J. R. M. (2005). QBF: Quick Big Five personality test manual. Leeuwarden, The Netherlands: LDC Publications.

  • Virtanen, T., Räikkönen, E., Engels, M., Vasalampi, K., & Lerkkanen, M.-K. (2021). Student engagement, truancy, and cynicism: A longitudinal study from primary school to upper secondary education. Learning and Individual Differences, 86, 101972.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walburg, V. (2014). Burnout among high school students: A literature review. Children and Youth Services Review, 42, 28–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wouters, S., Verschueren, K., Briers, V., & Janssen, R. (2016). Development and validation of a Self-esteem Contingency Questionnaire for Adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 99, 295–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wouters, S., Colpin, H., Luyckx, K., & Verschueren, K. (2018). Explaining the relationship between parenting and internalizing symptoms: The role of self-esteem level and contingency. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(10), 3402–3412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wouters, S., Doumen, S., Germeijs, V., Colpin, H., & Verschueren, K. (2013). Contingencies of self‐worth in early adolescence: The antecedent role of perceived parenting. Social Development, 22(2), 242–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was funded by Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), project number S002917N, and by the Research Fund of KU Leuven (C14/20/057).

Data Sharing and Declaration

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven (Belgium), Tiensestraat 102 bus 3717, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Jeroen Lavrijsen & Karine Verschueren

  2. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, UGent (Belgium), Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Bart Soenens & Maarten Vansteenkiste

Authors
  1. Jeroen Lavrijsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bart Soenens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Maarten Vansteenkiste
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Karine Verschueren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

J.L. participated in the conceptualization and design of the study, coordinated the study and the measurements, performed the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; B.S. participated in the funding acquisition for the study, participated in the conceptualization and design of the study, and helped to draft the manuscript; M.V.S. participated in the funding acquisition for the study, participated in the conceptualization and design of the study, and helped to draft the manuscript; K.V. participated in the funding acquisition for the study, participated in the conceptualization and design of the study, and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeroen Lavrijsen.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the Ethical Committee of KU Leuven (protocol code G-2017 08 897, September 2017).

Informed consent

Prior to conducting the study, informed consent was obtained from students, their parents and their teachers.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lavrijsen, J., Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M. et al. When Insecure Self-Worth Drains Students’ Energy: Academic Contingent Self-Esteem and Parents’ and Teachers’ Perceived Conditional Regard as Predictors of School Burnout. J Youth Adolescence 52, 810–825 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01749-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01749-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation