The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacy
IntroductionBurnout, a work-related syndrome, considerably overlaps with depression. Despite its negative impact on modern society, the underlying mechanisms and effective interventions remain unclear. This study explores the effects of behavioral activation (BA) on burnout and investigates potentia...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1585047/full |
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| author | Hyewon Yeo Jini Tae Yoonhyoung Lee Youngeun Kim Wonhye Lee |
| author_facet | Hyewon Yeo Jini Tae Yoonhyoung Lee Youngeun Kim Wonhye Lee |
| author_sort | Hyewon Yeo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionBurnout, a work-related syndrome, considerably overlaps with depression. Despite its negative impact on modern society, the underlying mechanisms and effective interventions remain unclear. This study explores the effects of behavioral activation (BA) on burnout and investigates potential mediators within this relationship.MethodParticipants consisted of 471 Korean adults aged 20 to 69, recruited from the community through a research panel. They completed a self-administered online survey via personal computers or mobile devices. The survey included self-report measures such as the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale-Short Form (BADS-SF), the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), the Self-Efficacy (SE).ResultsPath analysis results indicated that higher behavioral activation levels were associated with increased acceptance-based action and self-efficacy, as well as reduced automatic negative thoughts. Additionally, greater acceptance-based action and self-efficacy were linked to lower burnout levels, whereas more frequent automatic negative thoughts were associated with higher burnout levels. Furthermore, structural equation modeling revealed that the relationship between behavioral activation and psychological burnout was fully mediated by these three variables.DiscussionThis study demonstrated a significant relationship between behavioral activation and burnout symptoms, with acceptance-based action, automatic negative thoughts, and self-efficacy acting as mediators. These findings offer valuable insights for developing effective treatment protocols for burnout within the BA framework. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6286799788044fa2a1c339aca2b65452 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-6286799788044fa2a1c339aca2b654522025-08-20T03:34:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-08-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15850471585047The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacyHyewon Yeo0Jini Tae1Yoonhyoung Lee2Youngeun Kim3Wonhye Lee4Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of KoreaSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Psychology, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaKorea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of KoreaIntroductionBurnout, a work-related syndrome, considerably overlaps with depression. Despite its negative impact on modern society, the underlying mechanisms and effective interventions remain unclear. This study explores the effects of behavioral activation (BA) on burnout and investigates potential mediators within this relationship.MethodParticipants consisted of 471 Korean adults aged 20 to 69, recruited from the community through a research panel. They completed a self-administered online survey via personal computers or mobile devices. The survey included self-report measures such as the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale-Short Form (BADS-SF), the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), the Self-Efficacy (SE).ResultsPath analysis results indicated that higher behavioral activation levels were associated with increased acceptance-based action and self-efficacy, as well as reduced automatic negative thoughts. Additionally, greater acceptance-based action and self-efficacy were linked to lower burnout levels, whereas more frequent automatic negative thoughts were associated with higher burnout levels. Furthermore, structural equation modeling revealed that the relationship between behavioral activation and psychological burnout was fully mediated by these three variables.DiscussionThis study demonstrated a significant relationship between behavioral activation and burnout symptoms, with acceptance-based action, automatic negative thoughts, and self-efficacy acting as mediators. These findings offer valuable insights for developing effective treatment protocols for burnout within the BA framework.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1585047/fullburnoutbehavioral activationacceptance-based actionautomatic negative thoughtself-efficacystructural equation model (SEM) |
| spellingShingle | Hyewon Yeo Jini Tae Yoonhyoung Lee Youngeun Kim Wonhye Lee The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacy Frontiers in Psychology burnout behavioral activation acceptance-based action automatic negative thought self-efficacy structural equation model (SEM) |
| title | The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacy |
| title_full | The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacy |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacy |
| title_short | The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacy |
| title_sort | relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting the mediating role of acceptance based action automatic negative thought and self efficacy |
| topic | burnout behavioral activation acceptance-based action automatic negative thought self-efficacy structural equation model (SEM) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1585047/full |
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