Introduction
The Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey (MBI-SS) is a 15-item self-report measure of burnout in university students. It assesses exhaustion from study demands, a cynical or detached attitude toward studies, and reduced efficacy as a student. Wilmar B. Schaufeli and colleagues published it in 2002, and the development article has received more than 7,000 citations.
Mind Garden now publishes the student version as the MBI–General Survey for Students, MBI-GS (S). This guide explains the subscales, scoring, translations and evidence.
Key Features of the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey (MBI-SS)
Purpose and Use
The MBI-SS assesses burnout among university students and helps identify the burnout dimensions that need intervention.
Target Population
The MBI-SS was developed for university students, usually young adults. There are no established age-specific norms.
Structure
The research version has 15 items in three subscales:
Subscale
What it covers
Items
Exhaustion
Emotional and physical depletion from studying
5
Cynicism
Reduced interest, enthusiasm and sense of meaning in studies
4
Professional Efficacy
Perceived effectiveness, competence, achievement and confidence in academic work
6
The original version had 16 items, with 5 Cynicism items. One Cynicism item was removed as ambiguous and unsound, leaving the 15-item final version shown in the development study. The current official Mind Garden MBI-GS (S) has 16 items.
Scoring Method
Items are rated on a 7-point frequency scale from 0 (never) to 6 (always).
Burnout pattern: high Exhaustion and Cynicism scores and low Efficacy scores indicate burnout.Reduced efficacy: Efficacy items are reverse scored when reported as reduced efficacy.No cut-off scores have been established.
Administration Format
The MBI-SS takes about 5–10 minutes. Mind Garden allows the MBI-GS (S) to be given as an online survey through a non-Mind Garden system or on paper, under license.
Applications of the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey (MBI-SS)
The MBI-SS supports several uses:
Academic burnout profiles: describing burnout in university students.Targeted support: identifying burnout dimensions that need intervention.Medical and health professions education: studying burnout in medical and dental students.Languages and availability
The MBI-SS has been translated and validated in many languages:
Arabic: psychometric properties and validationChinese: factorial validitySpanish: Spanish studyFrench: French validationBrazilian Portuguese: Portugal–Brazil cross-cultural adaptationKorean: cultural validationSerbian: validation in medical studentsThai: Thai adaptationHungarian: Hungarian studyFurther validation: factorial validity and invariance (2018)Licenses for the official student version are available from Mind Garden.
Reliability and Validity
In the original cross-national study in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, Cronbach's alphas were:
Exhaustion: 0.74 to 0.80Cynicism: 0.79 to 0.86, after removing the problematic itemEfficacy: 0.67 to 0.76Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure in each national sample, with acceptable fit after respecification. However, complete factorial invariance across countries was not shown.
Validation studies:
Burnout and engagement in university students: a cross-national study (2002): study linkA Rasch analysis validation of the MBI-SS (2018): study linkMeasuring burnout among university students: factorial validity and invariance (2018): study linkPsychometric study of the MBI-SS (2025): study linkLimitations and Considerations
Keep these points in mind:
Reliability: some reliability coefficients were below 0.70 in the original study.Invariance: complete factorial invariance across countries was not established.No cut-offs: no cut-off scores have been established.Two names: the academic literature uses MBI-SS (15 items), while Mind Garden's current product is the MBI-GS (S) (16 items), so report which version you used.Other Versions And Related Questionnaires
The official Mind Garden version is the MBI–General Survey for Students, MBI-GS (S), with 16 items, by Christina Maslach, Susan E. Jackson, Michael P. Leiter and Wilmar B. Schaufeli.
These questionnaires are related:
Utrecht Work Engagement Scale–Student Survey (UWES-S)Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and its student adaptationsOldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI); see the ResRef OLBI guideSchool Burnout Inventory (SBI)For broader mental health, the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 are complementary but measure different constructsAdditional Resources
The development article: linkFor a license, see Mind Garden. For inquiries, contact Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Utrecht University, Department of Psychology, at W.Schaufeli@fss.uu.nl.Browse more medical education questionnaires in the ResRef database.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey measure?The MBI-SS measures burnout in university students across three dimensions: exhaustion from study demands, cynicism toward studies, and reduced professional efficacy as a student.
How is the MBI-SS scored?Items are rated from 0 (never) to 6 (always). High Exhaustion and Cynicism scores with low Efficacy scores indicate burnout. Efficacy items are reverse scored when reported as reduced efficacy.
How many items does the MBI-SS have?The research version has 15 items: 5 Exhaustion, 4 Cynicism and 6 Efficacy. Mind Garden's current official student version, the MBI-GS (S), has 16 items.
Does the MBI-SS have a cut-off score?No. No cut-off scores have been established. The MBI-SS describes burnout profiles across its three dimensions rather than classifying students.
A Word from ResRef About the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey (MBI-SS)
The MBI-SS is a brief student-specific measure of burnout covering Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Efficacy in university students. The original cross-national study supported its three-factor structure and demonstrated generally acceptable internal consistency, although some reliability coefficients were below 0.70 and complete factorial invariance across countries was not established.
References
Schaufeli, W. B., Martínez, I. M., Pinto, A. M., Salanova, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). Burnout and Engagement in University Students. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33(5), 464–481. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022102033005003Hu, Q., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2009). The Factorial Validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey in China. Psychological Reports, 105(2), 394–408. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.105.2.394-408AlShahrani, I., Eroje, A. B. I., Tikare, S., Togoo, R. A., Soliman, A. E. M., & Rao, G. R. (2022). Psychometric Properties and Validation of the Arabic Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey in Saudi Dental Students. Saudi Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences, 10(2), 117–124. https://doi.org/10.4103/sjmms.sjmms_116_21Faye‐Dumanget, C., Carré, J., Le Borgne, M., & Boudoukha, P. A. H. (2017). French validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐Student Survey (MBI‐SS). Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 23(6), 1247–1251. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.12771Campos, J. A. D. B., & Maroco, J. (2012). Adaptação transcultural Portugal-Brasil do Inventário de Burnout de Maslach para estudantes. Revista de Saúde Pública, 46(5), 816–824. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0034-89102012000500008Shin, H., Puig, A., Lee, J., Lee, J. H., & Lee, S. M. (2011). Cultural validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Korean students. Asia Pacific Education Review, 12(4), 633–639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-011-9164-yIlic, M., Todorovic, Z., Jovanovic, M., & Ilic, I. (2016). Burnout Syndrome Among Medical Students at One University in Serbia: Validity and Reliability of the Maslach Burnout Inventory—Student Survey. Behavioral Medicine, 43(4), 323–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2016.1170662López-Gómez, E., González-Fernández, R., & Khampirat, B. (2025). Psychometric study of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey on Thai university students. Scientific Reports, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-84829-8Portoghese, I., Leiter, M. P., Maslach, C., Galletta, M., Porru, F., D’Aloja, E., Finco, G., & Campagna, M. (2018). Measuring Burnout Among University Students: Factorial Validity, Invariance, and Latent Profiles of the Italian Version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS). Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02105Wongtrakul, W., Dangprapai, Y., Saisavoey, N., & Sa-nguanpanich, N. (2023). Reliability and validity study of the Thai adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey among preclinical medical students at a medical school in Thailand. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1054017Shi, Y., Gugiu, P. C., Crowe, R. P., & Way, D. P. (2018). A Rasch Analysis Validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey with Preclinical Medical Students. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 31(2), 154–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2018.1523010