Relación entre el burnout académico y la memoria subjetiva en estudiantes de Kinesiología de Chile. Estudio de corte transversal

Abstract

Introduction

Academic burnout is a multidimensional syndrome that affects university students, particularly in health-related fields. It is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, its prevalence increased significantly, potentially impacting cognitive functions such as subjective memory. This study aimed to examine the relationship between burnout and subjective memory in a sample of physiotherapy students in Chile.

Methods

A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with 135 physiotherapy students from 3 Chilean universities. Participants completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey and the Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire. Associations between burnout dimensions and subjective memory were analyzed using simple and multiple lineal regression models, adjusting for sociodemographic variables.

Results

Burnout was present in 54.8% of the sample, with emotional exhaustion being the most prevalent dimension (88.9%), especially among women. Regarding subjective memory, the strategy subscale had the lowest score (40.9%), followed by satisfaction (58.6%) and capacity (62.4%). Men reported higher satisfaction with their memory, while women reported greater use of strategies. Emotional exhaustion was significantly associated with lower scores in capacity and satisfaction, and higher scores in strategy. Multivariate models confirmed emotional exhaustion as the strongest negative predictor of subjective memory perception.

Conclusions

In the study sample, burnout, particularly emotional exhaustion; was significantly associated with impaired subjective memory in physiotherapy students. These findings highlight the need for interventions that promote emotional well-being and metacognitive strategy development to support academic performance in physiotherapy students.