The mediating roles of coping styles and academic burnout in the relationship between stressors and depressive symptoms among Chinese postgraduates

Psychological mechanisms of healthy lifestyle and academic burnout: a moderated mediation model

Objective

Academic burnout is a prevalent phenomenon among college students. According to the Conservation of Resources Theory, when there is an imbalance between invested resources and expected returns, individuals may suffer from academic or job burnout. If an individual has sufficient resources, these resources may relieve the negative problem. Healthy lifestyle is believed to improve brain health and provide resources. However, limited research has examined the psychological mechanisms that link academic burnout and a multidimensional healthy lifestyle.

Methods

A sample of 1,186 undergraduate students from freshmen to seniors were recruited using the stratified cluster random sampling method. The participants completed online questionnaires that assessed the healthiness of their lifestyle, dormitory conflict coping style, and academic burnout in April 2021. Bivariate correlation and a moderated mediation model were constructed to examine the relationships among these variables.

Results

The results indicated that (1) healthy lifestyle was negatively correlated with academic burnout (r = -0.496, p < 0.001), coping styles of competition (r = -0.281, p < 0.001) and avoidance (r = -0.210, p < 0.001), but positively correlated with coping styles of cooperation (r = 0.342, p < 0.001) and obedience (r = 0.134, p < 0.001); (2) academic burnout was positively correlated with coping styles of competition (r = 0.331, p < 0.001) and avoidance (r = 0.305, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with coping styles of cooperation (r = -0.227, p < 0.001); and (3) the direct path of healthy lifestyle on academic burnout was partially mediated by coping styles of competition (effect = -0.04, 95%CI: [-0.05,-0.03]) and avoidance (effect = -0.03, 95%CI: [-0.04,-0.02]), which was moderated by gender (β = -0.48, p = 0.007).

Conclusion

The findings offer valuable insights into the psychological mechanisms underlying the association between academic burnout and multidimensional healthy lifestyle among general college students, as indicated that college students with healthier lifestyles tend to use fewer coping styles of competition and avoidance, leading to a lower level of academic burnout. Such effect is more pronounced among female college students. This study provides a new perspective for the prevention and intervention in college students' academic burnout.

The Interplay Between Stress and Eating Attitudes: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Romanian Physical Therapy Students

Background: University students often experience significant stress, which may contribute to disordered eating behaviors. Objectives: This study examines the relationship between perceived stress and eating attitudes among physical therapy students in Romania, exploring the impact on overall well-being and identifying predictors of maladaptive eating patterns. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 192 students from the Faculty of Midwifery and Nursing, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Two validated instruments were used: the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) to assess eating behaviors and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) to measure stress levels. Statistical analyses included correlations, ANOVA, and regression models, with a significance threshold of p < 0.05. Results: Among respondents, 15.1% displayed disordered eating behaviors, with stress significantly correlating with EAT-26 subscales. Stress levels were predominantly moderate to high, with younger students reporting higher perceived stress. A significant positive correlation was found between perceived stress and disordered eating behaviors, particularly dieting and bulimia/food preoccupation. Female students reported higher stress levels than males; however, no significant gender differences were observed in disordered eating patterns. No significant associations were found between BMI, weight fluctuations, and EAT-26 scores, suggesting other factors may better explain disordered eating behaviors. Logistic regression identified perceived stress as a significant predictor of disordered eating risk, reinforcing its role in shaping maladaptive eating patterns. Conclusions: Stress significantly impacts eating attitudes, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to reduce stress and promote healthy coping mechanisms. Future research should investigate longitudinal patterns and the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving student well-being. The limited sample size and the absence of sensitivity analyses are notable limitations that constrain the generalizability of the findings.

Stress, coping profiles, and depression among nurses: a latent profile and mediation analysis

BACKGROUND

Stress is significantly associated with depressed mood in nurses. However, it remains unclear whether the mechanisms by which two types of stress-childhood adversity and perceived stress-affect depression are identical. This study aims to investigate the relationship between stress (including childhood adversity and perceived stress) and depression, as well as the mediating role of coping profiles.

METHODS

A survey was conducted among 737 nurses in a tertiary hospital in China using the Revised Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Trait Coping Styles Questionnaire, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Latent profile analyses were performed using Mplus, and mediation analyses were conducted using R software.

RESULTS

Coping profiles were categorized into four groups: "Low Coping" (9.9%), "Inadequate Coping" (39.5%), "Emotional Suppression" (32.0%), and "Active Coping" (18.6%). Both childhood adversity and perceived stress were positively associated with depression levels in nurses. The "Emotional Suppression" profiles played a mediating role in the relationship between childhood adversity and depression. "Emotional Suppression" and "Low Coping" profiles played mediating roles in the relationship between perceived stress and depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Stress and coping profiles are established risk factors of depression among nurses. Reducing stress levels and improving coping profiles among nurses can have a substantial impact on the prevention and alleviation of depression.

The chain mediating role of social support and positive coping between neuroticism and depressive symptoms among graduate students

Introduction

Graduate students face unprecedented levels of neuroticism and pressure compared to their peers. Despite existing research examining the connection between neuroticism and depressive symptoms, a gap in the current understanding of the mediating mechanisms that act on this relationship, especially among this specific student population.

Methods

This study investigated the potential chain-mediating roles of social support and positive coping in the relationship between neuroticism and depressive symptoms among graduate students. The participants were 1845 graduate students who provided demographic information and complete assessments including the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), Depression Rating Scale (BDI-II), Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), and Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ). The analysis involved correlational analysis and a chain mediation model was used to investigate the associations among neuroticism, social support, positive coping mechanisms, and depressive symptoms.

Results

The results show significant correlations among neuroticism, depressive symptoms, social support, and positive coping. Moreover, our findings verify that neuroticism affects depressive symptoms in graduate students through three pathways: the mediating effect of social support, the mediating effect of positive coping, and the chain-mediating effect of social support and positive coping.

Discussion

Overall, the hypothesized chain model conclusively fits the data: Neuroticism directly affects depressive symptoms among graduate students and influences depressive symptoms through the mediating effects of social support and positive coping, as well as the chain mediating effects of these two variables.

The effects of childhood trauma on nonsuicidal self-injury and depressive severity among adolescents with major depressive disorder: The different mediating roles of positive and negative coping styles

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to examine whether positive and negative coping styles mediated the influences of childhood trauma on NSSI or depressive severity in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD).

METHODS

The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory Chinese Revised Edition (OSIC), the short-form Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF), and the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) were evaluated in 313 adolescents with MDD.

RESULTS

MDD adolescents with NSSI had higher CTQ-SF total score, emotional and sexual abuse subscale scores, but lower CDI total and subscale scores compared to the patients without NSSI. The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that emotional abuse (β = 0.075, 95 % CI: 0.042-0.107) and ineffectiveness (β = -0.084, 95 % CI: -0.160 ∼ -0.009) were significantly associated with the frequency of NSSI in adolescents with MDD, but emotional abuse (β = 0.884, 95 % CI: 0.570-1.197), sexual abuse (β = 0.825, 95 % CI: 0.527-1.124) and negative coping style (β = 0.370, 95 % CI: 0.036-0.704) were independently associated with the depressive severity in these adolescents. Furthermore, the mediation analysis demonstrated that positive coping style partially mediates the effect of childhood trauma on NSSI (Indirect effect = 0.002, 95 % bootCI: 0.001-0.004), while the negative coping style partially mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive severity (Indirect effect = 0.024, 95 % bootCI: 0.005-0.051) in adolescents with MDD.

LIMITATIONS

A cross-sectional design, the retrospective self-reported data, the small sample size.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that coping styles may serve as mediators on the path from childhood trauma to NSSI or depressive severity in MDD adolescents.

Direct and indirect effects of father-child attachment on academic burnout in college students

The study aims to investigate the multiple mediating roles of core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging in the relationship between father-child attachment and academic burnout in college students. A sample of 418 college students completed the father-child attachment scale, the scale of sense of school belonging, core self-evaluation scale, and academic burnout scale. After controlling for variables such as mother-child attachment, gender, age, and grade, the results showed: (1) father-child attachment was significantly and negatively correlated with academic burnout, and positively correlated with core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging; both core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging were significantly and negatively correlated with academic burnout. (2) The multiple mediating model of father-child attachment influencing academic burnout in college students was established. Both core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging played a partial mediating role between father-child attachment and academic burnout. The direct effect of father-child attachment on academic burnout accounts for 33.3% of the total effect. The indirect effects of core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging between father-child attachment and academic burnout account for 50.0 and 16.7% of the total effect, respectively. These findings identify the internal mechanisms through which father-child attachment affects academic burnout in college students from personal traits and interpersonal perspectives.