Academic burnout among nursing students: The role of stress, depression, and anxiety within the Demand Control Model

Background: Academic burnout among nursing students represents a significant challenge, with prevalence rates ranging from 19% to 46% globally. Aim: This study aimed to assess the roles of stress, depression, and anxiety in predicting academic burnout among Indonesian nursing students within the Demand-Control Model framework. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 250 nursing students from an Indonesian public university using stratified random sampling. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale for Youth and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey measured psychological factors and academic burnout. Multiple linear regression examined the relationships between variables while controlling for demographic. Results: Stress emerged as the strongest predictor (beta = 1.484, p < 0.001), followed by depression (beta = 1.156, p = 0.002). Anxiety showed no significant effect. Academic year significantly influenced burnout levels (F = 5.213, p = 0.002), with fourth-year students reporting highest burnout scores. The final model explained 16.8% of variance in academic burnout. Conclusions: Stress and depression are key predictors of academic burnout, with stress as the dominant factor. These findings emphasize the need for targeted interventions and comprehensive support systems, particularly for advanced-year nursing students.