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Shielding Against Academic Burnout: How Empathy and Emotion Regulation Safeguard Nursing Students in the Middle East
Ahmed Hashem El-Monshed1, Marwan Altheeb, Ahmed Loutfy
1Author Affiliations: Department of Nursing (El-Monshed, Altheeb, Bayoumi, Sanad, and Eweida) and Midwifery Specialty, Department of Nursing, (Khonji), College of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Bahrain, Manama, Bahrain; Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing (El-Monshed), Department of Pediatric Nursing (Ali), and Department of Gerontological Nursing (Saad), Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt; Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura National University, Mansoura, Egypt (Ali and Saad); Department of Nursing, College of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Fujairah University, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (Loutfy and Elzeiny); Department of Pediatric Nursing (Loutfy) and Department of Medical Surgical Nursing (Bayoumi), Faculty of Nursing, Beni-Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt; Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing (Alkubati) and Department of Nursing Administration (Alrasheeday), College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia; Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt (Eweida); College of Nursing, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (El-Gazar); Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Port Said University, Port Said, Egypt (Fayed); Faculty of Nursing, Al Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan (Abualruz); Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, College of Nursing, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Albagawi); Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Ahmed); Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Al-Razi University, Sanaa, Yemen (Al-Ahdal); Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, College of Nursing, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia (Al-Ahdal); College of Nursing, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia (Abousoliman and Zoromba); Nursing Administration Department, Faculty of Nursing, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr el-Sheikh, Egypt (Abousoliman); Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Arab American University, Jenin, Palestine (Salameh); and Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt (Zoromba).
Background:
Academic burnout is a critical issue in nursing education. Empathy and emotion regulation (ER) are potential protective factors, but their interplay is poorly understood in Middle Eastern contexts.
Purpose:
The aim was to examine the relationships between academic burnout, empathy, and ER among nursing students in the Middle East, testing ER as a mediator and moderator.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey of 1562 nursing students from 6 Middle Eastern countries was conducted.
Results:
Higher empathy predicted lower academic fatigue ( β = -.152) and disengagement ( β = -.180) and higher perceived academic performance ( β = .207). ER mediated the effects of empathy on disengagement and performance and significantly moderated the empathy-fatigue relationship.
Conclusions:
Empathy protects against burnout, but its efficacy depends on ER skills and cultural context. Integrating ER training into nursing curricula is essential to cultivate student resilience and sustainable practice.
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