The paradoxical role of professional satisfaction in the bidirectional relationship between psychological...

Learning burnout among nursing students is a concern for nursing education, particularly during the transition from foundational studies to specialization. Although psychological vulnerability is recognized as a risk factor, the bidirectional longitudinal relationship between psychological vulnerability and learning burnout remains inadequately understood. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether professional satisfaction buffers or strengthens this association.

To examine the bidirectional, longitudinal relationship between psychological vulnerability and learning burnout, while also testing whether professional satisfaction acts as a buffer or an amplifier of this relationship.

A three-wave, two-year longitudinal study was conducted across four medical universities in Zhejiang Province, China.

A cohort of 4891 full-time undergraduate nursing students provided valid data across all three waves, spanning the first through third years of study.

Psychological vulnerability (a composite of neuroticism, rumination, and reverse-scored self-control), learning burnout, and professional satisfaction were measured annually. Analyses used random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) and simple slope analyses to examine moderation by T2 professional satisfaction.

Both cross-lagged paths were significant from T2 to T3, but not from T1 to T2. At the within-person level, higher-than-usual psychological vulnerability at T2 predicted higher-than-usual learning burnout at T3, and vice versa. The interaction between T2 psychological vulnerability and professional satisfaction positively predicted T3 learning burnout. Simple slope analyses showed that the positive vulnerability-burnout association was strongest at higher levels of professional satisfaction, suggesting that students with higher professional satisfaction are more sensitive to vulnerability-induced burnout.

Psychological vulnerability and learning burnout showed bidirectional within-person associations from the second to the third year of study. High professional satisfaction should not be assumed to buffer the association between vulnerability and subsequent burnout. Nursing educators could consider psychological vulnerability and professional satisfaction together when planning well-being assessments, mentoring, and coping-skills support during this transition.