The role of social skills in burnout and engagement among university students

Introduction. Social skills may prevent burnout and enhance engagement in students by increasing social support and improving relationships with peers and teachers. Method. This study explores the interrelation between self-reported social skills and experienced burnout and engagement among 351 university students (70.5% women, 29.5% men) in different study fields. The Study Burnout Inventory (SBI-9), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student (UWES-S) and a social skills questionnaire were utilised. The data was analysed using linear regression analysis. Results. The results show an association between higher social skills and lower burnout and higher engagement. Higher engagement was also associated to lower burnout. Discussion and Conclusion. The findings imply that targeting social skills might offer a way to increase engagement and diminish burnout among students.