Emotion Regulation and Academic Burnout Among Youth: a Quantitative Meta-analysis

Abstract

Emotion regulation (ER) represents an important factor in youth’s academic wellbeing even in contexts that are not characterized by outstanding levels of academic stress. Effective ER not only enhances learning and, consequentially, improves youths’ academic achievement, but can also serve as a protective factor against academic burnout. The relationship between ER and academic burnout is complex and varies across studies. This meta-analysis examines the connection between ER strategies and student burnout, considering a series of influencing factors. Data analysis involved a random effects meta-analytic approach, assessing heterogeneity and employing multiple methods to address publication bias, along with meta-regression for continuous moderating variables (quality, female percentage and mean age) and subgroup analyses for categorical moderating variables (sample grade level). According to our findings, adaptive ER strategies are negatively associated with overall burnout scores, whereas ER difficulties are positively associated with burnout and its dimensions, comprising emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and lack of efficacy. These results suggest the nuanced role of ER in psychopathology and well-being. We also identified moderating factors such as mean age, grade level and gender composition of the sample in shaping these associations. This study highlights the need for the expansion of the body of literature concerning ER and academic burnout, that would allow for particularized analyses, along with context-specific ER research and consistent measurement approaches in understanding academic burnout. Despite methodological limitations, our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of ER's intricate relationship with student burnout, guiding future research in this field.