Analysis of Latent Profiles of Negative Emotions, Evaluation Stress and Academic Burnout in Middle School Students: Focusing on the Gyeongnam Education Longitudinal Study (GELS)

Objectives This study aimed to identify latent profiles consisting of academic stress, academic burnout, and negative emotions among 2nd-year middle school students, and to examine whether there are differences in gender, school type (Happy School), and school life (class understanding, class-disruptive behaviors, school education satisfaction) based on these profiles. Methods For this purpose, data from 1,881 second-year middle school students in the Gyeongnam Education Longitudinal Study (GELS) were used to classify latent profiles of academic stress, academic burnout, and negative emotions. Cross-analysis and one-way ANOVA were conducted on the groups derived from the latent profile results to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in gender, school type, and school life variables. Results First, the academic stress, academic burnout, and negative emotions of second-year middle school students were classified into three groups: the ‘high group’, ‘medium group’, and ‘low group’. Second, the results of the cross-analysis showed that a higher proportion of male students and students from Happy Schools were found in the ‘low group’. Third, there were statistically significant differences in class understanding, class-disruptive behaviors, and school education satisfaction among the three groups. The ‘low group’ showed the highest average in class understanding and school education satisfaction, while the ‘high group’ had the highest average in class-disruptive behaviors. Conclusions The study confirmed that there are group-based differences in academic stress, academic burnout, and negative emotions among middle school students, which are associated with gender, school type, and school life (class understanding, class-disruptive behaviors, school education satisfaction). The findings were compared with previous research, and the limitations of the study were discussed.