Gender, psychological well-being, and burnout among students in Malaysian higher institution: The mediating effect of social support

In the hallowed halls of academia, a silent epidemic rage, where the pursuit of knowledge clashes with the crushing burden of burnout, leaving college students struggling for solace and sanity. This study uses the demand resource theory to determine the role of social support as the mediating factor in the relationship between psychological well-being and burnout in a population of undergraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Four hundred sixty-one respondents who participated in this study were students from four public universities in Malaysia. A self-report questionnaire comprising questions on the Burnout Clinical Subtype Questionnaire, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Psychological Well-being Scale was used for data collection. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23 and Partial Least Square version 3. Findings revealed that female students experience more burnout than male students; students in their fourth year of study experienced more burnout than students in previous years of study; there is a significant negative relationship between students’ psychological well-being and burnout; and social support mediates the relationship between psychological well-being and burnout among students. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.