Is Burnout the Hidden Architecture of Academic Life in University Students? A Network Analysis of Psychological Functioning Within a Control–Value and Job Demands–Resources Framework

Academic functioning in university students emerges from the interplay of motivational, self-regulatory, emotional, and contextual processes. The present study examined the network structure linking academic motivation, self-regulated learning, academic engagement, academic burnout, generalized anxiety, self-esteem, and students’ ratings of instruction. Participants were 530 university students from Western Romania (Mage = 28.86, SD = 9.75; 87.5% women). Data were collected through an online cross-sectional survey using validated self-report instruments. A Gaussian Graphical Model was estimated using the EBICglasso procedure to examine the unique associations among the study variables and their relative structural importance within the network. The results indicated a moderately dense psychological network, with academic burnout emerging as the most structurally central node. Intrinsic motivation toward achievement, identified regulation, and performance control were positioned within the adaptive core of the network, whereas burnout, anxiety, amotivation, and low self-esteem clustered within the maladaptive region. Academic engagement occupied an intermediary position linking motivational and self-regulatory processes. Overall, the findings support a systems-oriented interpretation of academic functioning, suggesting that burnout represents a key convergence point in students’ psychological functioning, while self-determined motivation and self-regulated learning may serve as protective processes. These results highlight the value of network analysis for identifying psychologically meaningful intervention targets in higher education.