The impact of perceived social support on college athletes’ academic burnout: The moderating role of cognitive reappraisal within a serial mediation model
- 1College of Physical Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
- 2School of Educational Science, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
Abstract
College athletes face substantial challenges from the combined demands of academic study and athletic training, placing them at elevated risk for academic burnout (AB). This study examined how perceived social support (PSS) is associated with AB by testing the mediating roles of mental toughness (MT) and athlete burnout (ATHB) and the moderating effect of cognitive reappraisal (CR). Using a cross-sectional design, 1,918 college athletes from over 20 Chinese universities completed standardized questionnaires assessing PSS, MT, ATHB, CR, and AB. Serial and moderated serial mediation were analyzed with the PROCESS macro (Models 6 and 89) while controlling for demographic and sport-related variables. PSS was directly and negatively associated with AB (β = −0.122, p < 0.001), with significant indirect associations separately through MT and ATHB and sequentially through MT and ATHB. CR showed path-specific moderation: at higher levels of CR, the negative PSS–AB association was stronger, but so was the positive ATHB–AB association, whereas the MT–AB association did not differ significantly across CR levels. Thus, CR should not be interpreted as having a uniformly buffering role. These findings may inform future multicomponent support approaches aimed at strengthening PSS and MT and identifying and addressing ATHB, while applying CR-related training cautiously and with attention to the specific pathway involved. The effectiveness and boundary conditions of such approaches require longitudinal or experimental testing.
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BibTeX
@article{xu2026impact,
title = {{The impact of perceived social support on college athletes’ academic burnout: The moderating role of cognitive reappraisal within a serial mediation model}},
author = {Guihua Xu and Xirui Yang and Qiyong Zhang},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0361222},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361222},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The impact of perceived social support on college athletes’ academic burnout: The moderating role of cognitive reappraisal within a serial mediation model
AU - Guihua Xu
AU - Xirui Yang
AU - Qiyong Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0361222
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361222
AB - College athletes face substantial challenges from the combined demands of academic study and athletic training, placing them at elevated risk for academic burnout (AB). This study examined how perceived social support (PSS) is associated with AB by testing the mediating roles of mental toughness (MT) and athlete burnout (ATHB) and the moderating effect of cognitive reappraisal (CR). Using a cross-sectional design, 1,918 college athletes from over 20 Chinese universities completed standardized questionnaires assessing PSS, MT, ATHB, CR, and AB. Serial and moderated serial mediation were analyzed with the PROCESS macro (Models 6 and 89) while controlling for demographic and sport-related variables. PSS was directly and negatively associated with AB (β = −0.122, p < 0.001), with significant indirect associations separately through MT and ATHB and sequentially through MT and ATHB. CR showed path-specific moderation: at higher levels of CR, the negative PSS–AB association was stronger, but so was the positive ATHB–AB association, whereas the MT–AB association did not differ significantly across CR levels. Thus, CR should not be interpreted as having a uniformly buffering role. These findings may inform future multicomponent support approaches aimed at strengthening PSS and MT and identifying and addressing ATHB, while applying CR-related training cautiously and with attention to the specific pathway involved. The effectiveness and boundary conditions of such approaches require longitudinal or experimental testing.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -