Psychological Development and Education ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (3): 357-367.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2025.03.06

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Longitudinal Associations between Emotional Labor and Job Burnout in Primary and Secondary School Teachers: The Chain Mediating Role of Emotional Resilience and Teacher-student Relationship

HU Yingying1, YANG Yiming1, WANG Wenjing1,2   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875;
    2. Center for Teacher Ethics Development under the Ministry of Education at Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875
  • Published:2025-05-20

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Abstract: In order to further explore the longitudinal associations and the internal mechanism between the primary and secondary school teachers’ emotional labor (surface acting, deep acting, and expression of naturally felt emotions), emotional resilience, teacher-student relationship, and job burnout, a total of 829 primary and secondary school teachers were selected in eleven schools in six provinces and cities of China using whole cluster sampling and followed up for six months using a questionnaire research method. Results showed that: (1) Between surface acting and job burnout, emotional resilience played a longitudinal mediating role and a chain mediating role through teacher-student relationship. Between deep acting and job burnout, only teacher-student relationship played a longitudinal mediating role. Between expression of naturally felt emotions and job burnout, emotional resilience and teacher-student relationship played a longitudinal independent mediating role and a chain mediating role, respectively, and there were no significant differences in the independent mediator effect sizes; (2) Teachers at different developmental stages differed significantly in the “T1 deep acting → T2 job burnout” and “T1 expression of naturally felt emotions → T2 job burnout” paths of the longitudinal mediation model. These findings provide strong evidence and important practical insights for effectively alleviating teachers’ job burnout.

Key words: emotional labor, job burnout, emotional resilience, teacher-student relationship, primary and secondary school teachers

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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