# Anxiety and academic burnout in migrant children: a chain mediation model of positive psychology and self-concept

## TL;DR

This study explores how anxiety leads to academic burnout in migrant children, with positive psychology and self-concept playing key roles in the process.

## Contribution

The study identifies a chain mediation model involving positive psychological capital and self-concept in the relationship between anxiety and academic burnout in migrant children.

## Key findings

- Anxiety is significantly associated with academic burnout in migrant children.
- Positive psychological capital and self-concept independently mediate the anxiety-burnout relationship.
- A chain mediation effect exists where anxiety reduces positive psychological capital, which weakens self-concept, leading to higher burnout.

## Abstract

This study examined the impact of anxiety on academic burnout among migrant children who changed schools during the middle-to-upper primary grades. It further investigated the independent and sequential mediating roles of positive psychological capital and self-concept within this relationship.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 473 migrant children in grades 5 and 6. The Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS), Positive Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PPQ), Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (PHCSS), and Adolescent Learning Burnout Inventory (ALBI) were administered. Data analysis included common method bias assessment, descriptive and correlational analyses, hierarchical regression, and bootstrap mediation analysis.

Anxiety showed a significant positive association with academic burnout. Both positive psychological capital and self-concept independently mediated this relationship. Furthermore, a significant chain-mediating effect was observed: anxiety was linked to lower positive psychological capital, which was associated with a weaker self-concept, ultimately contributing to higher levels of academic burnout.

The findings suggest that internal protective resources play crucial roles in the link between anxiety and academic burnout among migrant children. Interventions aimed at reducing academic burnout may benefit from a dual focus on mitigating anxiety while proactively fostering positive psychological capital and a healthy self-concept.