The effect of effort - reward imbalance on research burnout of medical master’s students: A moderated mediation model

Drawing on Job Demands–Resources and Conservation of Resources theories, this study examined the association between effort–reward imbalance and research burnout among Chinese medical master’s students in professional degree programs integrated with standardized residency training, testing psychological empowerment as a mediator and mentor support as a moderator. Data were collected from 455 students via an online survey and analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and the PROCESS macro. Effort–reward imbalance was positively associated with research burnout (r=0.432, p<0.01). Psychological empowerment partially mediated this association (indirect effect=0.145, 95% CI [0.076, 0.211]). Mentor support moderated the effort–reward imbalance→psychological empowerment path (β=0.093, p<0.001) and the empowerment→burnout path (β=0.072, p<0.05). These findings suggest that research burnout is linked to effort–reward imbalance, psychological resources, and mentor support; strengthening empowerment and mentor support may improve research training quality and student wellbeing in dual clinical–research contexts.