Teacher-student Relationships and Adolescent Academic Burnout: The Moderating Role of General Self-concept

Academic burnout is a common problem among teenagers. Previous studies have explored the influence of teacher-student relationships and general self-concept on adolescent academic burnout; however, studies on their interactive influence on adolescent academic burnout are lacking. Thus, based on social cognitive theory, this study aimed to explore the interactive influence of teacher-student relationships and general self-concept on adolescents’ academic burnout. In total, 1,214 adolescents responded to the Teacher-student Relationships Questionnaire, Self-Description Questionnaire II, and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey. The results showed that both teacher-student relationships and general self-concept negatively predicted academic burnout (p < 0.01). Linear regression analysis showed that the main effects of teacher-student relationships (p < 0.001) and of general self-concept (p < 0.001) on academic burnout were significant. Moreover, the interactive effect of teacher-student relationships and general self-concept on adolescent academic burnout was significant (p < 0.01). High general self-concept reduced the influence of poor teacher-student relationships on adolescents' academic burnout. Adolescents with high general self-concept experienced the least academic burnout in the presence of good teacher-student relationships, while adolescents with low general self-concept experienced the most academic burnout in the presence of poor teacher-student relationships. The results of this study indicated methods to reduce the academic burnout of adolescents, suggesting not only the importance of the external environment of adolescents but also the need to improve students' internal resources to help them achieve better self-concept.