The moderating effect of adult's mindfulness on the relations of adult's burnout and children's academic performance

Abstract

Burnout is an overwhelming situation that brings adverse effect to the individual himself and also to the people around him. Ample studies looking into parents’ and teachers’ burnout have identified its negative impacts on children’s development, ranging from confrontational behaviours to underachievement in school. This study investigated the relations between adults’ burnout and children’s academic achievement by examining the potential moderating effect of adults’ trait mindfulness. A total of sixty-seven kindergarteners (mean age = 61.09 months; SD = 5.84 months) were recruited, along with their teachers and parents. Aligned with previous studies, children’s academic achievement was found to be negatively associated with adults’ burnout and positively associated with adults’ trait mindfulness. However, moderation analysis showed that parents’ trait mindfulness did not significantly moderate the relations between parental burnout and children’s academic performance. The findings of children’s academic achievement being negatively correlated to adults’ burnout and positively corelated with adults’ trait mindfulness suggested the potential benefits of promoting mindfulness activities among teachers and parents. Strategies which help alleviate burnout should also be identified and implemented to facilitate children’s learning and development.