Exploring Self-Care and Its Associations with Burnout, Vitality, and Academic Goal Achievement in University Students

Interest in self-care has risen in the past years with little direct research on the subject. This thesis sought to clarify the concrete behaviours that define self-care and the construct's potential impact on academic goal achievement. Three pilot studies (total n = 798) compiled a list of 12 self-care behaviours to represent the construct. Review of existing research suggest that these behaviours can impact physical and psychological well-being. A final study (n = 95) explored the effects of self-care in undergraduate students over a university semester. Results found that the frequency of self-care is associated with increased feelings of vitality, and is negatively correlated with feelings of burnout. Frequency of self-care did not predict academic goal achievement.