Internet addiction, academic burnout, and mediating factors among undergraduates in Hebei, China

Over the past 20 years, the degree of academic burnout among Chinese college students has gradually increased, which has a negative impact on students' learning effect, mental health and life quality, and it is almost synchronized with the growing problem of Internet addiction. Research has consistently demonstrated a significant positive correlation between Internet addiction and academic burnout. Hence, this study aimed to investigate how Internet addiction relates to academic burnout among undergraduates from normal universities in the Hebei province of China. Specifically, the research sought to: (1) assess the indirect effect of academic engagement and academic self-efficacy as mediators; and (2) examine the chain mediating effect of academic engagement and academic self-efficacy in the relationship between Internet addiction and academic burnout. The study also aimed to validate the psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test through factor analysis within the Chinese undergraduate context. The research design of this study was descriptive and correlational research design. The stratified random sampling method was used as it can lower the risk of biases in the sample, minimize the chance of systematic errors, and create a more representative sample. A sample of 492 undergraduates (121 male and 371 female) from three normal universities participated in this study. Instruments used were Chinese version of Internet Addiction Test, Chinese version of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student, Chinese version of Academic Self-efficacy Scale, and Learning Burnout Scale of Undergraduates. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires and Structural Equation Modelling was used to test the hypotheses using AMOS 24.0 software. The results indicated that Internet addiction positively predicted academic burnout, while both academic self-efficacy and academic engagement negatively predicted academic burnout. Academic engagement had partial mediation effect in the relationship between Internet addiction and academic burnout. Academic self-efficacy mediated the relationship between Internet addiction and academic burnout independently. However, its mediation effect turned insignificant when academic engagement was involved in the model as a mediating variable. There was a significant chain mediating effect of academic engagement and academic self-efficacy in the relationship between Internet addiction and academic burnout. These findings provide crucial insights into the sequential mechanism through which Internet addiction leads to academic burnout. The revealing of the chain mediation effect is more meaningful than examining each mediator independently, as it demonstrates how the loss of one psychological resource (engagement) triggers the decline of another (self-efficacy), creating a loss spiral toward burnout. This cascade effect, supported by both the conservation of resources theory and self-efficacy theory, expands the scope of these theories' explanations of social phenomena. Moreover, the findings suggest implementing evidence-based interventions including establishing comprehensive digital wellness protocols incorporating Internet usage analytics, early detection systems, and personalized digital interventions via virtual coaches, may attenuate academic burnout, optimize learning outcomes, and enhance psychological well-being among students.

Text FPP 2024 46 Declaration form.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only Download (924kB) Text FPP 2024 46 fulltext.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only Download (5MB) Text 125512 fulltext.pdf Download (1MB) Official URL or Download Paper: https://ethesis.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18900

Actions (login required)

View Item