Academic burnout refers to a negative emotional experience that students encounter during their learning process, characterized by a lack of enthusiasm, negative attitudes, and disengagement from academic tasks (Lei et al., 2022). This issue has become increasingly widespread among college students, exhibiting a high incidence and severity (Wang et al., 2021). However, specific manifestations of academic burnout can vary among students, highlighting its heterogeneity. Academic burnout not only affects academic performance and progress but also exacerbates mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, influencing personal career development and overall quality of life (Zhang L. et al., 2020). Research indicates a significant positive correlation between the academic stress faced by college students and their level of academic burnout: the greater the stress an individual faces, the higher the degree of academic burnout (Richardson et al., 2012). In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has had multifaceted impacts on students' academic experiences worldwide. First, the pandemic resulted in the temporary closure of schools and a shift from in-person to online learning. This sudden transition caused significant changes in the learning environment and methods, which may have decreased learning efficiency and increased academic stress (Wang et al., 2020). Second, students whose parents lost jobs due to COVID-19 may experience diminished academic performance, leading to increased academic burdens and feelings of anxiety (Brooks et al., 2020). Furthermore, social isolation during this period may exacerbate mental health issues, further affecting students' learning and concentration (Loades et al., 2020). Long-term academic burnout can lead to various adverse consequences, including psychological, physiological, and social issues. Psychologically, academic burnout may result in emotional problems such as depression and anxiety (Lim et al., 2016). Physiologically, it can impact sleep quality, leading to disorders and fatigue, thereby reducing individuals' life satisfaction and sense of wellbeing. Socially, academic burnout may impair social functioning, causing declines in social skills, intimate relationships, and interpersonal communication abilities. Therefore, investigating the mechanisms that lead to academic burnout among college students is essential. This understanding can help enhance learning efficiency and quality, reduce negative emotions, improve mental health levels, and boost individuals' self-confidence and self-efficacy.

Stress is a state of mental and physical tension that arises when individuals perceive stressors from internal or external sources. It typically manifests during the process of coping with challenges, demands, or difficulties, triggering a range of physiological and psychological responses (Zhang et al., 2024). Stress primarily affects three areas: cognition, emotion, and behavior (Smith and Johnson, 2020a). Cognitively, individuals may experience confusion and difficulty concentrating. Emotionally, they may exhibit anxiety, unease, and mood fluctuations. Behaviorally, stress can lead to withdrawal, impulsive actions, or negative coping strategies. If an individual remains in a state of stress for an extended period, it can result in issues such as anxiety, depression, physical discomfort, and poor sleep quality. These outcomes can potentially increase the risk of both psychological and physical illnesses, negatively impacting overall health (Zhang et al., 2024). A study on college students found a significant correlation between academic stress and academic burnout (Smith et al., 2020). When faced with academic stress, college students often experience a lack of motivation, low mood, and diminished interest in learning-all of which are associated with academic burnout. This situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, students not only had to adapt to new learning environments and methods (Wang et al., 2020) but also faced feelings of loneliness and helplessness due to social isolation and economic difficulties at home. These factors contributed to increased psychological stress (Brooks et al., 2020; Loades et al., 2020) and the emergence of academic burnout.

Stress theory suggests that individuals may experience a range of physiological and psychological responses, such as anxiety, tension, and fatigue, when coping with academic stress. If these responses are not effectively alleviated or regulated, they can lead to the development of academic burnout. Conversely, academic burnout can exacerbate an individual's stress burden, creating a vicious cycle (Bakker et al., 2014). Some studies emphasize the importance of assessing the underlying mechanisms by which stress impacts academic burnout. This approach enhances our understanding of stress's influence on academic burnout and provides guidance for effective intervention measures (Zhang et al., 2019; Smith and Johnson, 2020b; Jones and Black, 2021). By exploring the relationship between stress and academic burnout in depth, researchers can identify potential indirect or moderating variables. This knowledge can help formulate targeted interventions that enhance college students' abilities to cope with stress and prevent academic burnout. Furthermore, understanding the deeper mechanisms by which stress affects academic burnout can assist in developing more effective prevention strategies. By identifying the sources of stress and the key factors related to academic burnout, schools and society can implement targeted mental health education and provide counseling services. Based on these insights, this study proposes Hypothesis 1: Stress can positively predict academic burnout.

This study found that stress significantly predicts academic burnout, thereby validating Hypothesis 1. The stress-adaptation model suggests that an individual's adaptation process consists of three stages: coping and regulation, restoring balance, and learning and growth. During the coping and regulation stage, individuals employ various strategies to manage stress. In the restoring balance stage, they seek to regain internal and external equilibrium. Finally, in the learning and growth stage, individuals enhance their coping abilities through experience and reflection, better preparing themselves for future challenges (McEwen, 2017). Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many families faced numerous stressors, including health panic, social isolation, economic uncertainty, job loss, strained family relationships, and information overload (Brooks et al., 2020; Rajkumar, 2020; Shigemura et al., 2020). The stress experienced by individuals can transfer to family members, resulting in increased tension, conflict, and emotional volatility within the household (Prime et al., 2020; Spinelli et al., 2020; Taubman-Ben-Ari et al., 2020). For students, prolonged isolation has led to heightened academic pressures, cancellations or delays of exams, lack of face-to-face interactions with classmates, inadequate learning resources, and unfavorable home environments (Cao et al., 2020; Elmer et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2020a). Therefore, it is crucial to examine the relationship between academic burnout, the sources of stress, and coping strategies. Stress can disrupt cognitive functions and learning processes, resulting in difficulties in learning and decreased efficiency, which ultimately contribute to academic burnout (Kong et al., 2019). Additionally, emotional and psychological responses to stress in educational contexts—such as negative emotions and anxiety—can impact students' motivation and engagement, leading to a loss of interest in their studies. This, in turn, results in negative academic behaviors and avoidance, further contributing to academic burnout (Zhang et al., 2020b). In China, despite educational authorities advocating for quality education, exam results remain the primary criterion for evaluating students. The pressure from schools and parents often leads to various forms of extracurricular learning, overwhelming many students with stress and prompting some to drop out (Pan, 2014). Our study confirms that increased stress levels positively predict academic burnout, indicating that rising stress can negatively affect children's interest in learning. This underscores the need for Chinese educational institutions and families to address this issue by appropriately reducing academic stress on children.

This study confirmed the indirect effect of social support between stress and academic burnout, validating Hypothesis 2. Social support theory posits that support from social networks and interpersonal relationships can significantly enhance an individual's psychological and physiological health when facing stress and challenges. This support encompasses emotional assistance (such as comfort and understanding), informational guidance (such as advice and resources), and tangible help (such as material support). The theory underscores the importance of interpersonal relationships in fostering individual adaptability and coping skills, suggesting that those with robust social support systems are better equipped to manage life's stressors (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2017). Social support can alleviate stress, improve mental health, enhance coping abilities, and promote psychological adjustment (Cohen and Janicki-Deverts, 2012; Uchino, 2009). Internally, it provides emotional backing and understanding, which reduces negative emotions and anxiety while boosting self-esteem and confidence (Zhen et al., 2014). Externally, social support facilitates access to information and resources, enabling individuals to effectively tackle academic challenges, thereby mitigating academic stress and reducing the risk of academic burnout (Liu et al., 2020). However, research indicates that an increasing number of Chinese students are becoming addicted to video games, leading to greater social isolation (Zhang and Wang, 2010). This trend negatively impacts their levels of social support. Consequently, it is essential for schools and families to emphasize the dangers of excessive video game use and to limit the time children spend playing them.

This study confirmed the indirect role of self-esteem in the relationship between stress and academic burnout, thereby validating Hypothesis 3. Self-esteem theory suggests that an individual's self-evaluation influences their engagement and effort in academic pursuits. Higher self-esteem boosts confidence and motivation toward learning, making individuals more willing to face challenges and maintain a positive attitude, ultimately reducing the likelihood of academic burnout. Conversely, lower self-esteem can lead to self-doubt, diminishing engagement and motivation in academic settings, which increases the risk of burnout (Orth and Robins, 2013). The development of self-esteem is shaped by both internal factors—such as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects—and external influences, including social environments and others' evaluations (Orth and Robins, 2014). While self-esteem levels can fluctuate based on individual experiences and changes in social contexts, they tend to remain relatively stable and exert a lasting impact on resilience and confidence (Miao et al., 2020). High self-esteem correlates positively with psychological wellbeing, adaptability, and lower levels of anxiety and depression, as well as with positive social interactions, greater life satisfaction, and happiness (Orth and Robins, 2014). Individuals with high self-esteem are generally better equipped to cope with stress, effectively reducing negative emotions and anxiety (Chang et al., 2019). They are also more likely to establish positive goals and coping strategies, enabling them to tackle academic challenges, alleviate stress, and reduce the risk of burnout (Zhou et al., 2021). In China, many parents feel anxious about their children's academic performance (Meng, 2021) and often seek to improve grades through after-school tutoring. However, this approach can yield mixed results (Liu and Wang, 2018). If parents and teachers focus on reducing academic stress during the educational process and emphasize fostering self-esteem alongside encouraging independent learning, it could lead to more beneficial outcomes for students.

This study found that social support and self-esteem play a chain-mediating role in the relationship between stress and academic burnout, thus supporting Hypothesis 4. According to the buffering hypothesis of social support, social support can serve as a “buffer” when individuals encounter stress. Such positive experiences of support help individuals gain a sense of value and wellbeing, thereby enhancing their self-esteem (Cohen and Wills, 1985; Marshall et al., 2014). Individuals with high levels of self-esteem tend to exhibit stronger self-efficacy and greater enthusiasm for learning, which in turn reduces levels of academic burnout (Liu T., 2023). Social support can offer emotional validation and attachment, provide information and feedback, and alleviate psychological burdens when individuals face challenges and stress, thus promoting and maintaining a sense of self-worth, reducing academic burnout, and supporting students' academic achievement and mental health (Ginns et al., 2021; Reevy and Deason, 2014). Unlike previous studies, this research found that self-esteem could positively predict academic burnout, which may be attributed to unstable self-esteem. Unstable self-esteem can impair individuals' psychological adaptability to stress, thereby contributing to academic burnout (Zeigler-Hill and Wallace, 2012; Gao, 2014). These findings suggest that the mechanism by which stress affects academic burnout is complex. To improve students' academic burnout levels, we should address the root causes by reforming current educational policies—academic performance should not be the sole criterion for admission to prestigious schools but rather one component of a comprehensive evaluation system. Additionally, both schools and families should proactively reduce academic pressure, avoid assigning extra-curricular tutoring beyond regular schoolwork, encourage students to engage more in social interactions, and work on enhancing their self-esteem, ultimately helping to alleviate academic burnout.

We acknowledge several limitations in this study. First, our sample size of 428 participants is relatively small, which may affect the generalizability of our findings to other populations. Second, although we conducted three waves of longitudinal data collection, we chose a three-month interval based on the practices of other researchers. However, this interval may not adequately capture changes in psychological states and might not fully reflect the actual circumstances of the participants.

Despite these limitations, this research supports the theories of self-esteem, social support, and the stress-adaptation model, while also applying these theories in empirical contexts. Furthermore, the use of longitudinal data enhances the credibility of our findings. By constructing a structural equation model, we explored the mechanisms through which stress influences academic burnout, contributing valuable insights to the theoretical and empirical understanding of the relationship between these two factors.

Stress can both directly and indirectly predict academic burnout. Academic burnout is not only directly influenced by stress but also indirectly affected by two types of “psychological buffering resources”—internal resources (such as self-esteem) and external resources (such as social support). We refer to this phenomenon as the “Dual-Buffering Pathway Model of Academic Burnout.” In China, schools and parents have long placed a strong emphasis on students' academic performance, often setting overly high expectations during the educational process. This immense pressure may contribute to heightened academic burnout among students. Therefore, both school and family education in Chinese society should pay greater attention to students' inner thoughts, abandon the practice of using academic performance as the sole evaluation criterion, and focus on the holistic development of students' abilities. Encouraging children to develop their strengths based on their interests, and providing them with consistent affirmation, support, and understanding during their growth process, can be effective in alleviating academic burnout.