The mediating effect of academic engagement between psychological capital and academic burnout among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundAlmost all universities have been forced to close and change to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a big challenge for students. There is little knowledge about the academic burnout among nursing students in these difficult circumstances, especially in traditional Chinese medicine universities, and the relationship between the burnout and their psychological capital and academic engagement. ObjectiveThe aim is to describe academic burnout and clarify the relationships between academic burnout, academic engagement, and psychological capital among nursing students in traditional Chinese medicine universities. DesignThis is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. SettingThe study sampled a four-year undergraduate traditional Chinese medicine university in Jian, Shandong Province, China. ParticipantsA convenience sampling method was used to select 733 nursing students from April to June 2020. MethodsThe Academic Burnout Scale, the Positive Psychological Capital Scale, and the Academic Engagement Scale were used for data collection, in addition to social-demographic data. Path analysis was used to clarify the relationships among academic burnout, academic engagement and psychological capital. ResultsOf all the study participants, 39.29% had a certain degree of academic burnout. Academic engagement and psychological capital were negatively correlated with academic burnout among nursing students in traditional Chinese medicine university. Psychological capital was positively correlated with academic engagement. ConclusionNursing students had a certain degree of academic burnout. Academic engagement played a partial mediated role in the relationship between psychological capital and academic burnout.