The relationship between harsh parenting, parent-child alienation and academic burnout in college students: a latent profile and network analysis

Academic burnout has become an increasingly significant issue among college students, affecting both their mental health and career development. To address this issue, the present study adopts a person-centered approach to examine individual-level differences. Specifically, it compares different network structures to identify latent classification patterns among harsh parenting, parent–child alienation, positive psychological capital, and academic burnout in college students. Latent Profile Analysis and network analysis were employed to examine the network structures and group differences among harsh parenting, parent–child alienation, positive psychological capital, and academic burnout. A total of 681 college students completed a series of standardized scales measuring these constructs. The results indicated that: (1) Latent Profile Analysis identified three distinct profiles: Low Harsh Parenting - Low Parent-child Alienation - High Positive Psychological Capital - Low Academic Burnout (LLHL), High Harsh Parenting - High Parent-child Alienation - Low Positive Psychological Capital - High Academic Burnout (HHLH), and High Harsh Parenting - High Parent-child Alienation - High Positive Psychological Capital - High Academic Burnout (HHHH). (2) In the LLHL network, resilience functioned as the primary bridging node. In the HHLH and the HHHH network, harsh parenting emerged as the key bridging node. These findings offer valuable insights into the underlying factors contributing to academic burnout and suggest potential avenues for targeted interventions aimed at mitigating academic burnout in college students.