Associations between School Burnout, Perceived Learning Difficulties, and Delayed Graduation from Upper Secondary Education: A Longitudinal Study

The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine how adolescents’ school burnout profiles relate to perceived learning difficulties and delayed graduation in upper secondary education. Adolescents (N = 485, mean age 15.7 years) living in a mid-sized city in Finland completed questionnaires during their upper secondary education in either the academic or vocational track. A person-oriented approach was used, and the results imply that students with perceived learning difficulties are at a higher risk of school burnout than those who do not report learning difficulties. Adolescents with a higher likelihood of belonging to the ‘at risk of school burnout’ profile also had a higher risk of delayed graduation than students in other profiles, as well as those without perceived learning difficulties. In addition, students in the vocational track were more likely to belong to the ‘Not at risk of school burnout’ profile than to the other school burnout profiles. Girls had an increased risk of belonging to one of the three profiles indicating burnout than to the ‘not at risk of school burnout’ profile. These findings suggest that perceived learning difficulties affect adolescents’ lives longitudinally; thus, better identification of these difficulties and more effective support are needed.