Abstract

School burnout is defined as a reaction to experiencing chronic stress resulting from educational failures of previously strongly engaged students. This leads to psychological discomfort, physical and psychological exhaustion, as well as withdrawal. The syndrome contains three components: emotional exhaustion (the pupil experiences exhaustion with regard to schoolrelated requirements); cynicism (depersonalisation, characterised by a feeling of detachment from and indifference to tasks imposed on pupils by the school) and a feeling of inadequacy (the pupil feels inadequate with regard to the fulfilment of school requirements). Exhaustion due to school activities has negative impact not only on current functioning, but also on future educational and occupational plans. It causes many problem behaviours (such as truancy, violence, psychoactive substance abuse, delinquency), serious health problems (depression, heart disease, psychosomatic illness). The study investigated the links between school burnout and functioning as a school pupil and the quality of relationships among lower secondary school students.