Moving Away from Exhaustion: How Core Self-Evaluations Influence Academic Burnout

BACKGROUND: Academic burnout refers to students who have low interest, lack of motivation, and tiredness in studying. Studies concerning how to prevent academic burnout are rare. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate the impact of core self-evaluations on the academic burnout of university students, and mainly focused on the confirmation of the mediator role of life satisfaction. METHODS: A total of 470 university students accomplished the core self-evaluation scale, Satisfaction with Life, and academic burnout scale. RESULTS: Both core self-evaluations and life satisfaction were significantly correlated with academic burnout. Structural equation modeling indicated that life satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between core self-evaluations and academic burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Core self-evaluations significantly influence academic burnout and are partially mediated by life satisfaction.