The maslach burnout inventory-student version’s factorial structure and cross-cultural validity in a Nigerian university.

Abstract

Background: The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is the most widely accepted tool for assessing burnout among
students worldwide. However, no studies have yet tested the validity of the student version of the MBI in Nigeria. The
study aimed to assess the factorial structure and cross-cultural validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student
Version MBI-GS (S) in a Nigerian university.
Methodology: An online cross-sectional study was conducted among 536 undergraduate students from three
departments in the Faculty of Basic Medical Science at a Nigerian university. Data were collected using MBI-GS (S)
and a confirmatory factor analysis was performed to explore its factor structure.
Results: The results revealed that the three-factor, 15-item structure of the MBI-GS (S) demonstrated a valid factorial
structure among Nigerian undergraduate students, evidenced by the extraction of three components with eigen values
exceeding 1, accounting for 73.7% of the variance, in line with the three-factor structure of the original MBI. The
internal consistency of the questionnaire was high, with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.901. The Cronbach's alpha for
emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and academic efficacy were 0.901, 0.841, and 0.941, respectively. A weak negative
correlation was observed between emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and a moderate negative correlation was found
between emotional exhaustion and academic efficacy, and cynicism and academic efficacy.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that the MBI-GS (S) is a reliable tool for assessing burnout levels among Nigerian
university students. They provide strong evidence for the factorial validity and reliability of the MBI-GS (S), supporting
its cross-cultural validation for assessing burnout.