Burnout among VET pathway university students: The role of academic stress and school-life satisfaction

Abstract Student burnout has been widely discussed in scholarly and empirical communities. However, little attention has been given to the population of vocational education and training (VET) pathway university students. This cross-sectional study employed partial least squares structural equation...

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Main Authors: Qing Xia, Chunmin Pang, Wenyu Zeng, Qiujing Li, Shiyong Wu, Xiaoma Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-04-01
Series:BMC Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22769-2
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author Qing Xia
Chunmin Pang
Wenyu Zeng
Qiujing Li
Shiyong Wu
Xiaoma Xiao
author_facet Qing Xia
Chunmin Pang
Wenyu Zeng
Qiujing Li
Shiyong Wu
Xiaoma Xiao
author_sort Qing Xia
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Student burnout has been widely discussed in scholarly and empirical communities. However, little attention has been given to the population of vocational education and training (VET) pathway university students. This cross-sectional study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the burnout symptoms of Chinese VET pathway university students and their associations with academic stress and school-life satisfaction via the most up-to-date burnout assessment tool (BAT). 357 VET route university students were included in the present study, and the data were analyzed via SPSS 26, PROCESS 4.0, SmartPLS 3, and AMOS 26. The findings revealed that academic stress was positively correlated with student burnout symptoms and significantly negatively correlated with school-life satisfaction. School-life satisfaction partially mediated the association between academic stress and burnout. Institutions and teachers are encouraged to alleviate burnout by relieving vocational education students’ academic stress and increasing their satisfaction with life on campus.
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id doaj-art-52d46f8e3764466d88e7e1a0251eea0c
institution DOAJ
issn 1471-2458
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher BMC
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series BMC Public Health
spelling doaj-art-52d46f8e3764466d88e7e1a0251eea0c2025-08-20T03:15:14ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-04-0125111410.1186/s12889-025-22769-2Burnout among VET pathway university students: The role of academic stress and school-life satisfactionQing Xia0Chunmin Pang1Wenyu Zeng2Qiujing Li3Shiyong Wu4Xiaoma Xiao5Online Vocational Education Research Center, South China Normal UniversityEducational Assessment Office, Guangdong Academy of EducationOnline Vocational Education Research Center, South China Normal UniversityOnline Vocational Education Research Center, South China Normal UniversityOnline Vocational Education Research Center, South China Normal UniversityCollege of Teacher Education, Zhaoqing UniversityAbstract Student burnout has been widely discussed in scholarly and empirical communities. However, little attention has been given to the population of vocational education and training (VET) pathway university students. This cross-sectional study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the burnout symptoms of Chinese VET pathway university students and their associations with academic stress and school-life satisfaction via the most up-to-date burnout assessment tool (BAT). 357 VET route university students were included in the present study, and the data were analyzed via SPSS 26, PROCESS 4.0, SmartPLS 3, and AMOS 26. The findings revealed that academic stress was positively correlated with student burnout symptoms and significantly negatively correlated with school-life satisfaction. School-life satisfaction partially mediated the association between academic stress and burnout. Institutions and teachers are encouraged to alleviate burnout by relieving vocational education students’ academic stress and increasing their satisfaction with life on campus.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22769-2Academic stressBATStudent burnoutSchool-life satisfactionVET pathway university students
spellingShingle Qing Xia
Chunmin Pang
Wenyu Zeng
Qiujing Li
Shiyong Wu
Xiaoma Xiao
Burnout among VET pathway university students: The role of academic stress and school-life satisfaction
BMC Public Health
Academic stress
BAT
Student burnout
School-life satisfaction
VET pathway university students
title Burnout among VET pathway university students: The role of academic stress and school-life satisfaction
title_full Burnout among VET pathway university students: The role of academic stress and school-life satisfaction
title_fullStr Burnout among VET pathway university students: The role of academic stress and school-life satisfaction
title_full_unstemmed Burnout among VET pathway university students: The role of academic stress and school-life satisfaction
title_short Burnout among VET pathway university students: The role of academic stress and school-life satisfaction
title_sort burnout among vet pathway university students the role of academic stress and school life satisfaction
topic Academic stress
BAT
Student burnout
School-life satisfaction
VET pathway university students
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22769-2
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AT qiujingli burnoutamongvetpathwayuniversitystudentstheroleofacademicstressandschoollifesatisfaction
AT shiyongwu burnoutamongvetpathwayuniversitystudentstheroleofacademicstressandschoollifesatisfaction
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