Students’ Depression and School Burnout in the Context of Family Network Acceptance and Deviation from Balanced Time Perspective

Abstract

Nowadays, a growing increase in depression and school burnout is being observed in students. The research aim is to test the mediating effect deviation from balanced time perspective, gender, and subjective sense of family network acceptance on the relationship between depression and school burnout. The sample consisted of 355 students (61.6% girls, 48.4% boys) from the third grade of high school in the south of Poland (mean age 18.5). The student school burnout scale for youth, Time Perspective Inventory, and Depression Scale for youth were used in the survey. Results showed significant relationships between the time perspective indicators, depression, and school burnout as well as a mediation effect of the past time perspective and the fatalistic present time perspective towards depression through school burnout. The findings confirmed that the focus of a person on immediate hedonistic goals becomes significant for the severity of depression only after accounting for the level of school burnout. Conclusions comprised the design of psychological interventions aimed at the group of young people experiencing depression and school burnout considering the time perspective development.