Academic burnout is a state of emotional exhaustion, reduced interest, and negative attitudes toward academic tasks caused by ongoing stress. It can severely affect students’ mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being.
Lu, J., Wang, Y., Liu, X., Zhang, Q., & Yan, Y. (2025). Psychological mechanisms of healthy lifestyle and academic burnout: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1533693. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1533693
Key Points
- Healthy lifestyles negatively correlate with academic burnout.
- Competition and avoidance coping styles mediate the relationship between healthy lifestyle and academic burnout.
- Gender moderates the relationship, with females showing a stronger direct effect.
- Promoting healthy lifestyles and positive coping strategies could effectively reduce academic burnout.
Rationale
Academic burnout is a prevalent concern among college students, negatively impacting their mental health and academic performance.
According to the Conservation of Resources Theory (Hobfoll, 1989), burnout occurs when invested resources surpass returns.
A healthy lifestyle provides physical and psychological resources, thus potentially reducing burnout.
Transactional Theory of Stress further posits coping styles as mediators between lifestyle and stress-related outcomes.
Previous studies indicate that negative coping strategies exacerbate burnout, while positive strategies offer protective effects.
However, limited research exists on the interplay between comprehensive healthy lifestyles and academic burnout in general college students.
This study addresses these gaps by examining dormitory conflict coping styles and gender differences as psychological mechanisms linking lifestyle and burnout.
Future research could further explore longitudinal effects and expand samples to diverse contexts.
Method
A cross-sectional, moderated mediation model was employed with quantitative data collection via online questionnaires.
Procedure
- Participants recruited via stratified cluster random sampling.
- Completed online surveys assessing lifestyle healthiness, dormitory conflict coping styles, and academic burnout.
- Data analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and regression modeling.
Sample
- 1,186 undergraduate students (456 males, age 18–23 years).
- Freshmen (791), Sophomores (284), Juniors (75), Seniors (36).
Measures
- Academic Burnout Scale: Assessed negative psychological attitudes toward academic activities.
- Healthy Lifestyle Assessment Scale: Measured multidimensional aspects including diet, exercise, stress management, and interpersonal behaviors.
- Dormitory Conflict Coping Style Questionnaire: Evaluated coping strategies of competition, cooperation, avoidance, and obedience.
Statistical Measures
- Correlation analyses and moderated mediation modeling (PROCESS macro for SPSS).
- Bootstrapping method used for evaluating indirect effects and confidence intervals.
Results
- Healthy lifestyle was negatively correlated with academic burnout, indicating that students with healthier lifestyles experienced lower burnout levels.
- Coping styles of competition and avoidance partially mediated the relationship between healthy lifestyle and academic burnout, suggesting healthier lifestyles reduce reliance on these negative coping mechanisms.
- Gender significantly moderated the relationship, with female students showing a stronger negative relationship between healthy lifestyle and academic burnout compared to males.
- Students employing negative coping styles such as competition and avoidance reported higher levels of academic burnout.
- Positive coping styles such as cooperation were associated with lower levels of academic burnout.
Insight
The study reveals the significance of promoting comprehensive healthy behaviors to alleviate academic burnout through reduced negative coping responses.
It extends previous research by highlighting dormitory conflicts as critical stressors influencing burnout.
Future studies could explore longitudinal designs to clarify causality and include diverse regional samples for broader generalization.
Implications
Educational institutions should develop programs focusing on comprehensive lifestyle interventions and positive coping skills training.
Gender-specific interventions may be particularly beneficial, targeting male students’ interpersonal skills and healthy habits.
However, institutions may face challenges such as varying individual engagement levels and resource allocation for personalized interventions.
Strengths
This study had several methodological strengths, including:
- Large and diverse sample size.
- Utilization of validated and reliable scales.
- Robust statistical analyses through moderated mediation modeling.
Limitations
This study also had several limitations, including:
- Cross-sectional design limiting causal inference.
- Sample from a single university may limit generalizability.
- Relatively low reliability of certain coping style subscales.
Socratic Questions
- How might cultural differences influence the generalizability of these findings?
- Could the results differ significantly if longitudinal methods were used?
- What alternative factors might also mediate the relationship between lifestyle and burnout?
- How effective would these lifestyle interventions be in a different educational or cultural context?
- Considering the gender differences observed, what tailored interventions could be developed for male students to effectively reduce academic burnout?
