Unveiling the Mechanisms of Academic Burnout: A Multi‐Method Study on Academic Stress, Self‐Control and Teacher Expectations

ABSTRACT Academic burnout constitutes a significant impediment to the well‐being and academic achievement of university students. The present study utilized a multi‐method approach to investigate the mechanisms linking academic stress to academic burnout, testing a moderated mediation model across four distinct studies. Study 1 ( n = 153; M age = 18.72, SD = 0.76; 52.3% female) employed an experimental design to establish the causal effect of academic stress on academic burnout. Study 2 ( n = 348; M age = 21.07, SD = 1.40; 56.0% female) utilized an experimental paradigm to identify self‐control as a key mediator, demonstrating that academic stress depletes this resource, thereby increasing academic burnout. Study 3 ( n = 203; M age = 19.95, SD = 0.71; 51.7% female) applied an experimental manipulation to reveal that teacher expectations buffer this process, mitigating the detrimental impact of self‐control depletion. Finally, a three‐wave longitudinal survey (Study 4, n = 944; M age = 20.04, SD = 1.39; 49.2% female) validated the integrated model in a naturalistic setting. These findings elucidate a dual‐pathway process wherein academic stress exerts both direct and indirect (via self‐control depletion) effects on academic burnout, with high teacher expectations serving as a vital environmental buffer. The results underscore the necessity of multi‐level interventions and provide an evidence‐based framework for managing stress, enhancing student self‐control and optimizing the supportive environment to effectively combat academic burnout.