Psychosocial determinants of student well-being: The role of academic burnout, social support and learning empowerment through psychological capital

Abstract Student well-being plays a vital role in college study, significantly influencing students' academic performance, satisfaction with learning, cognitive functioning, and motivation. Recognizing its essential impact, this study discovers how psychosocial factors (i.e. academic burnout, learning empowerment, and social support) predict psychological well-being through the mediating effect of psychological capital. A sample of 448 undergraduate students was recruited through convenience sampling, and data were collected via self-report measures assessing academic burnout, learning empowerment, social support, psychological well-being, and psychological capital. While statistical analyses including means, standard deviations, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression were performed using SPSS v.26, the jAMM Module (medmod) of Jamovi software was employed to examine the mediation effects. The results indicate that academic burnout, learning empowerment, and social support are strong predictors of psychological well-being. Mediation analysis further shows that psychological capital partially mediates these relationships, suggesting that academic burnout, learning empowerment, and social support influence psychological well-being both directly and indirectly. Specifically, reducing academic burnout, fostering learning empowerment, and enhancing social support strengthen psychological capital, which, in turn, improves students' psychological well-being. These findings highlight the need to address burnout, nurture learning empowerment, and ensure social support as essential strategies for enhancing psychological capital and well-being in students. Consequently, college communities are encouraged to integrate these critical psychosocial resources into their programs to foster positive psychological well-being, academic success, and mental health among students.