The former research on the BO was done with medical or dentistry students. This is due to the similarity of the field of activity of these students with the former discoveries on the BO; but also by the fact that these selective and difficult trainings imply a very important level of motivation which is, for the different models of BO, one of the crucial etiological factors of this disorder. A Spanish study of dental school students (Galán, Sanmartín, Polo, & Giner, 2011) revealed that this population was likely to develop this type of disorder because of the variety of sources of stress to which these students and future professionals have to face.
In France, the studies in dentistry are subject to a numerous clausius. They take place over 6 years, a first cycle of two years, a 2nd cycle of 3ans and finally a third cycle of a year. The former cycle consists only of theoretical teachings, the admission in the second cycle depends on the rank of each student in the exams. The second cycle is made up of theoretical teachings and internships in professional settings.
Research with undergraduate students have shown that academic overload plays an important role in the development of BO. In addition, students with high test scores reported a lower level of academic satisfaction and academic achievement (Atalayin, Balkis, Tezel, Oclarit, & Kayrak, 2015).
A research on 161 graduate students (grades 4 and 5) (Pöhlmann, Jonas, Ruf, & Harzer, 2005) revealed that 10% suffered from severe emotional exhaustion, 17% complained of a feeling of unfulfillment, finally 28% reported severe symptoms of divestment. This study showed significant differences between the two years of study, revealing a lower level of emotional exhaustion in grade 5 and university. Studies of students in a theoretical course only favor the MBI-SS which allows circumventing the difficulties of MBI-HSS which is preferred for students with clinical practice. The two versions seem to be interesting to understand the BO with the students in alternating training.
A study comparing the prevalence of BO with years of training revealed higher MBI-SS and MBI-HSS scores for Grade 4 students for whom the number of hours of practice (not present in the first cycle) and theoretical courses are significantly higher than for the 5th year. Unlike previous studies, this research did not show any gender-related differences in BO measurements.
In general, studies agree that dentistry students (in different countries around the world) report high scores on the ’emotional exhaustion’ and ‘divestment’ dimensions of MBI-HSS (Humphris and al., 2002; Amin, Al-Ali, Duaibis, Oweis, & Badran, 2009, Pöhlmann and al., 2005). Nevertheless, some elements still do not reach consensus such as the impact of gender on the prevalence of burnout. While some studies show a superiority of this prevalence and stress among female students (Boudoukha and al., 2011; Zawieja, 2015) other studies do not find this kind of results (Galán and al., 2011).
In addition, the different studies do not agree on the demographic data to be retained, these factors impacting the BO scores (family separation, choice of studies by vocations, type of coping strategy, family and professional support, etc.).
