The role of study passion in the subjective vitality, academic burnout and stress: The person-oriented approach and latent profile analysis of study passion groups

Abstract

The dualistic model of passion suggests that harmonious passion and obsessive passion play different roles in predicting individuals’ functioning. Until now, in Poland, the person-oriented approach has rarely been used to describe passion. Moreover, no profiles have been analysed in the context of studying. The study aimed to identify profiles of study passion and to compare academic functioning (i.e., subjective vitality, academic burnout and perceived stress) as a function of their passion profile. The Passion Scale, the Subjective Vitality Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory adapted to assess academic burnout were used. In a sample of 272 university students (82.35% of females) with mean age of 21.68 years old (SD = 4.79), the results of latent profiles analysis showed the presence of three study passion profiles: 1) high (high harmonious passion and high obses- sive passion), 2) optimal (high harmonious passion and low obsessive passion), 3) low (low harmonious passion and low obsessive passion). Overall, students with high passion levels (high and optimal profiles) reported the most positive academic functioning indicators, whereas students with a low profile showed the worst levels of academic functioning. The presented research emphasizes the benefits of identifying study passion profiles in a group of students while assessing their academic functioning.