1Department of Clinical Services, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria
2Department of Clinical Services, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria
3Department of Psychiatry, University of Calabar Teaching, Calabar, Nigeria
4Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, UK
5Department of Psychiatry, University of Calabar Teaching, Calabar, Nigeria
Brain fag and burnout are exhaustion syndromes first described in different cultural contexts, and both occur among students. They share some similarities but have not been compared in research.
This study sought to determine the relationship between brain fag and burnout among adolescent students in Calabar, Nigeria.
In this cross-sectional study, 810 students were recruited from ten secondary schools in Calabar. The Brain Fag Syndrome Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey were administered.
The mean sample age was 15.93 (±1.35) years, and the gender distribution was approximately equal. The emotional exhaustion and cynicism dimensions of burnout were significantly associated with brain fag syndrome (p<0.05). Respondents with high emotional exhaustion (Odds ratio [OR]=3.3, confidence interval [CI]=2.06-5.36) and cynicism (OR=2.7, CI=1.66-4.39) were more likely to meet the threshold for brain fag syndrome. Principal components analysis of items from both instruments yielded a four-factor structure, and one had substantial loadings from both scales.
Both syndromes are related, probably due to an overlap in core exhaustion symptoms. More research is needed to elucidate their relationship further.
Psychological stress, Culture, Somatoform Disorders
