This study examined needs and perceptions surrounding student burnout and the role that social support plays in the development of burnout. Specific attention was paid to LGBTQ students, a...Show moreThis study examined needs and perceptions surrounding student burnout and the role that social support plays in the development of burnout. Specific attention was paid to LGBTQ students, a vulnerable minority group that has shown to be more susceptible to stress (Meyer, 2003). The study had a mixed methods design. A survey including standardized and self-composed questions was administered among a convenience sample of 974 university students (85% Caucasian; 79% identifying as woman), 214 of whom identified as LGBTQ. Quantitative analysis was done in SPSS, and open questions were assessed using thematic analysis in ATLAS.ti. According to the burnout measure short (BMS), 56% of the sample met the diagnostic criteria of burnout. Social support and stress were significant predictors of burnout; however, a mediating effect of social support was not found. Many students attributed the high levels of stress and burnout to a high workload. Students want universities to reduce workload, teach coping skills, and pay more personal attention to students’ mental health. LGBTQ students showed significantly higher levels of burnout and stress and lower levels of social support. Students indicated that their LGBTQ identity had them navigate additional stressors, and they asked for LGBTQ-specific support from within their universities. The current study shows that burnout is a serious problem among students. Social support may play a small role in burnout; burnout prevention should mainly focus on reducing stress while considering the needs of students. Using firsthand input from the survey, this study presents two frameworks linking student needs to existing and new interventions.Show less
Previous studies suggested that Spanish colonisers imposed their northern-based beliefs and ideas, including the Christian religion and cisnormativity, on their occupied territories under colonial...Show morePrevious studies suggested that Spanish colonisers imposed their northern-based beliefs and ideas, including the Christian religion and cisnormativity, on their occupied territories under colonial rule. This thesis aims to determine whether colonial legacies still influence the perceptions among present-day Mexican Twitter users. Specifically, it addresses the ways in which the muxe, a third gender among the Zapotec community, are perceived. To test the hypothesis, 112 tweets, including 37 visual objects, were examined using a mixed-methods approach. All tweets were written in Spanish and published between January 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022. The sample (n=112) has been coded and analysed with the software program ATLAS.ti. The results showed that the majority (59.82%) of the authors demonstrated cisnormativity by misgendering the muxe, and little more than one-fifth (20.54%) exercised epistemological colonisation through the misusage of northern-based terminology. Correspondingly, 40.18% of the authors correctly adopted non-biased muxe descriptions, such as third gender. Interestingly, three of the six videos explicitly touched upon how colonialism altered Mexican attitudes towards the muxe. Considering previous literature, the results of this thesis suggest that colonial legacies affect to some extent the ways in which contemporary Mexican Twitter users perceive muxes as gender identity. However, since the results demonstrated no definitive agreement, no firm conclusion can be drawn about the hypothesis. By applying statistics, further research might be conducted to confirm the significance of these results.Show less
