Cultural validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Korean students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial validity of the MBI-SS in Korean students. Specifically, we investigated whether the original three-factor structure of the MBI-SS was appropriate for use with Korean students. In addition, by running multi-group structural equation model analyses with factorial invariance tests simultaneously for both genders (i.e., males and females) and academic settings (i.e., middle school and high school), we tested whether the factor loading and correlations between factors can be similarly interpreted across the different groups. Results indicated that the MBI-SS is a valid instrument to measure academic burnout of Korean students. Furthermore, results presented the possibility that the MBI-SS could be used regardless of cultural background. Implications for future research and practice and limitations are discussed.