The Longitudinal Predictive Effect of Job Burnout on Depressive Tendency in Primary and Secondary School Teachers: The Moderating Role of Confucian Coping

Yang Yiming; Zhang Danmin; Wang Wenjing; Tao Sha

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20260109

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (1) : 82-91. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20260109

The Longitudinal Predictive Effect of Job Burnout on Depressive Tendency in Primary and Secondary School Teachers: The Moderating Role of Confucian Coping

Yang Yiming, Zhang Danmin, Wang Wenjing, Tao Sha

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Abstract

Depression among primary and secondary school teachers in China is a significant concern because it threatens teachers' mental health, students' academic achievement, and socio-emotional well-being. Longitudinal studies have highlighted job burnout as a critical factor in the development of depression. However, prior research has indicated that the three dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment) do not always occur together or progress in the same way. Therefore, it is important to explore the longitudinal relationships between these dimensions and depression to understand how burnout transitions into depression. Early-stage burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, may deplete transient resources (e.g., mood, energy), but these effects are often short-lived. Over time, depersonalization may lead to reduced personal accomplishment, which depletes structural resources, such as self-efficacy and self-esteem, thereby increasing the risk of long-term depression. Previous studies have suggested that depression typically emerges in later stages of burnout, particularly when individuals experience prolonged self-undermining beliefs and lack stable psychological resources. This study further examines the moderating role of Confucian coping, a meaning-focused strategy rooted in Eastern cultural contexts like China. Prior research has linked Confucian coping to depression and anxiety, especially under resource depletion. By investigating how burnout dimensions interact with Confucian coping to influence depression, this study aims to provide insights into preventive strategies targeting teachers' mental health.
A total of 210 primary and secondary school teachers (64 male and 146 female, 103 primary and 107 secondary school teachers) completed both the Job Burnout Scale and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale at baseline (T1) and five-month follow-up (T2), and the Confucian Coping Questionnaire at T2. Correlation analysis and significance testing were firstly conducted in SPSS 26.0. We then constructed multi-group cross-lagged models in Mplus 7.40 to explore the longitudinal associations between three dimensions of teachers' job burnout and depression. The moderating effect of Confucian coping was lastly conducted using Process 4.2. Teachers' gender, age, teaching experience, and subjective socioeconomic status were controlled as covariates because previous studies showed that they were significantly correlated to job burnout and depression. All three measures had good reliability and validity. No severe common bias was found.
The results indicated that: (1)Three dimensions of teachers' job burnout were significantly related to depressive tendency both concurrently and longitudinally. Specifically, at both baseline and follow-up, male teachers exhibited significantly higher levels of depersonalization, reduced personal accomplishment and depressive tendency compared to female teachers; (2) Cross-lagged analyses revealed that emotional exhaustion and depersonalization at Time 1 did not significantly predict depressive tendency at Time 2, nor did depressive tendency at Time 1 predict these constructs at Time 2. However, as hypothesized, reduced personal accomplishment at Time 1 significantly predicted depressive tendency at Time 2, while depressive tendency at Time 1 did not predict reduced personal accomplishment at Time 2. Notably, these cross-lagged models exhibited invariance across gender groups; (3) Moderation analyses revealed that reduced personal accomplishment at Time 1 predicted depressive tendency at Time 2 only among teachers with lower levels of Confucian coping. In contrast, this predictive effect was absent among teachers with higher levels of Confucian coping. Additionally, reduced personal accomplishment at both Time 1 and Time 2 mediated the link between depersonalization at Time 1 and depressive tendency at Time 2. Notably, higher levels of Confucian coping attenuated the mediating role of reduced personal accomplishment in this relationship.
Our findings shed light on the longitudinal associations between three dimensions of teachers' job burnout and depressive tendency, indicating the central role of reduced personal accomplishment. This suggests that interventions that enhance personal accomplishment may prevent burnout from developing into depression in later stages. Meanwhile, the moderating effect of Confucian coping implies that Chinese Confucian culture might provide designing interventions that target burnout and combine different types of coping.

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job burnout / depressive tendency / Confucian coping / primary and secondary school teachers

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Yang Yiming, Zhang Danmin, Wang Wenjing, Tao Sha. The Longitudinal Predictive Effect of Job Burnout on Depressive Tendency in Primary and Secondary School Teachers: The Moderating Role of Confucian Coping[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2026, 49(1): 82-91 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20260109

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