Associations between academic involution and depression in Chinese undergraduates: A serial mediation analysis of rest intolerance and burnout

This study examines the associations between academic involution and depression among college students in China, with a focus on the serial mediating roles of rest intolerance and academic burnout. Drawing on a sample of 636 students from a provincial key university, the findings show that academic involution is not only directly associated with depression but also indirectly related to it through a sequential pathway: higher academic involution is linked to greater rest intolerance, which is associated with higher academic burnout, and in turn related to more severe depressive symptoms, indicating that rest intolerance and academic burnout serially mediate the relationship between academic involution and depression. Despite these insights, the study has several limitations, including limited sample representativeness, the inability to draw causal inferences due to its cross-sectional design, and lack of control for confounding variables. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate a serial mediation structure involving rest intolerance and academic burnout that helps clarify how academic involution is related to depressive symptoms, enriching current knowledge on students' psychological well-being within highly competitive academic environments.