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CBI validity and reliability: what the research shows and what it does not

In the Danish documents, the three scales had internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.85 to 0.87 in the PUMA group. [1] A 2025 review of healthcare studies found the CBI had the most documented psychometric properties among the scales it compared. [2] There is no diagnostic cut-off, and the comparison figures are from one Danish document dated 2004. [1]

What did the original documents find?

In the PUMA group, Cronbach's alpha was 0.87 for personal burnout, 0.87 for work-related burnout, and 0.85 for client-related burnout. [1] In the representative Danish sample, alpha for the personal burnout scale was 0.80, and 0.83 among adults without employment. [1] Alpha above 0.70 is conventionally treated as adequate. [2]

What has later research found?

A 2025 systematic review compared burnout scales used in healthcare workers during COVID-19. For the CBI, overall alpha was 0.86 to 0.94, with 0.84 to 0.94 for personal, 0.79 to 0.93 for work-related, and 0.77 to 0.91 for client-related burnout. Test-retest correlation was at least 0.70. Factor analysis supported three factors, and measurement invariance was supported across exposure groups, which was the only scale in the review with that evidence. [2]

What do the comparison figures rest on?

The averages come from a representative sample of Danes interviewed by telephone, with a 75% response rate, and from the PUMA group of human service workers. [1] The document is dated February 2004. The "high degree" figure of 50 points is the document's own definition for its results, not a validated threshold. [1]

What does the evidence not establish?

That a score identifies burnout in you, that the Danish figures apply in your country today, or that an online version behaves like the research one. The 2025 review looked at healthcare workers during a pandemic, and we read only part of its text, so it cannot speak for every job. [2] A review it cites called for a diagnostic standard for burnout, so no agreed standard is available. [2]

What should I check before trusting an online CBI score?

Check these things before you trust an online CBI score:

  • Does it show three separate scores from 0 to 100?
  • Does it reverse the one reversed question in the work-related part?
  • Does it tell you the client-related part is only for jobs with clients?
  • Does it avoid presenting a result as a diagnosis?
  • Does it say what to do next, and when to see a doctor?

Sources and further reading

These links open external research and health-information websites.

  1. Borritz and Kristensen (2004): Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Normative data from a representative Danish population on personal burnout, and results from the PUMA study. National Institute of Occupational Health, Copenhagen (first edition, February 2004)
    The inventory's own document, hosted by the Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment: the three parts and their definitions, response categories, scoring, non-responder rules, Danish normative data, and PUMA results. Read on 2 November 2026.
  2. Efremova et al. (2025): Burnout scales used in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and their psychometric properties: a systematic review. Frontiers in Public Health
    An open-access review that compares the MBI, CBI, and OLBI. First 100,000 of about 165,000 characters read through Europe PMC; the rest not read.

This page is educational. A questionnaire score cannot establish a diagnosis or explain the cause of your symptoms. If you are struggling, speak with a doctor or mental health professional, whatever your score. Read when to get help for work stress or find a helpline in your country.