ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1669442
Academic Burnout and Psychological Well-Being among University Students: The Indirect Associations of Academic Motivation and a Cross-Cultural Comparison between Vietnam and Australia
Provisionally accepted
- The Saigon International University, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
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This study examines the relationships among academic burnout, academic motivation, and psychological well-being among university students in two cultural contexts: Vietnam and Australia. A total of 638 students (Vietnam = 339; Australia = 299) participated in the survey using three validated instruments: the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey (MBI-SS) for burnout, the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) for motivation, and the Psychological Well-Being scale (PWB). Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM), and multi-group invariance testing. Results indicated that burnout negatively influenced both motivation and well-being, whereas academic motivation positively predicted psychological well-being. The indirect path (MBI → AMS → PWB) was supported in both cultural groups. Although configural and metric invariance were established, the lack of scalar invariance suggests caution when comparing observed mean values across countries. Vietnamese students reported higher levels of burnout and lower levels of well-being, with stronger associations among burnout, motivation, and well-being compared to their Australian counterparts. These findings underscore the cross-cultural applicability of resource-based and motivational frameworks and highlight the importance of interventions that combine resource protection with the nurturing of basic psychological needs.
Keywords: academic burnout1, academic motivation2, Psychological Well-being3, Structural equation modeling (SEM)4, university students in Vietnam and Australia5, cross-cultural comparison6, higher education7
Received: 19 Jul 2025; Accepted: 15 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tran. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Khang Phuc Tran, tranphuckhang2k17@siu.edu.vn
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