Self-criticism unveiled: Its interplay with burnout and self-compassion in higher education students' study achievement

Burnout among higher education students and its impact on academic achievement has been the focus of extensive research lately. However, there is little known about the relationship between study-related burnout and self-compassion and how they together relate to academic achievement. The aim of the present study was to explore the individual combinations of study-related burnout and the dimensions of self-compassion (self-compassion and self-criticism) and how they are related to academic achievement. The self-report data was gathered from 782 students from the university of applied sciences and analysed using quantitative methods. The results revealed three profiles: 1) Average students with elevated self-criticism ( n = 229), 2) Self-critical students with higher burnout risk ( n = 149), and 3) Self-compassionate students with lower burnout risk ( n = 404). These profiles were differently related to academic achievement. The results imply the important role of self-criticism when considering student well-being. The implications of the findings are discussed. • All dimensions of study-related burnout were positively related to self-criticism and negatively related to self-compassion. • Three well-being profiles representing variation in burnout and self-compassion/self-criticism were found. • Students scoring high on both self-criticism and different burnout dimensions had significantly lowest academic achievement.