The influence mechanism of academic involution behavior among Chinese college students: a moderated mediation analysis based on the JD-R model

TL;DR

This study explores how Chinese college students' perceived employability leads to academic involution through social comparison, with academic anxiety playing a moderating role.

Contribution

The study extends the JD-R model to academic settings by identifying a moderated mediation mechanism involving perceived employability, social comparison, and academic anxiety.

Findings

Perceived employability is positively linked to academic involution behavior, partially mediated by upward social comparison.

Academic anxiety strengthens the indirect effect of perceived employability on academic involution via social comparison.

The findings suggest a conditional mechanism where academic anxiety intensifies the influence of employability on competitive behaviors.

Abstract

Against the backdrop of increasingly intense employment competition, Chinese university students are experiencing growing pressure to enhance their competitiveness. This study examined the relationship between perceived employability and academic involution behavior, focusing on the mediating role of upward social comparison and the moderating role of academic anxiety within the framework of the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 498 Chinese undergraduates using standardized questionnaires assessing perceived employability, upward social comparison, academic anxiety, and academic involution behavior. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping procedures were employed to test a moderated mediation model.

Perceived employability was positively associated with academic involution behavior, and this relationship was partially mediated by upward social comparison. The indirect effect accounted for approximately 11% of the total effect. Academic anxiety significantly moderated the path from perceived employability to upward social comparison, such that the mediating effect was stronger under higher levels of academic anxiety.

The findings extend the JD–R model to academic settings by demonstrating how perceived employability may promote competitive academic behaviors through social comparison processes. The moderating role of academic anxiety highlights the conditional nature of this mechanism. These results provide theoretical insight into student motivational dynamics and offer practical implications for reducing maladaptive academic competition in higher education contexts.

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