Self-compassion mediates the relationship between alexithymia and learning burnout in Chinese primary and secondary school students: A cross-sectional study

Alexithymia has an important effect on learning burnout; however, the underlying mechanism of this relation remains unclear. This study aims to examine why alexithymia is related to increased learning burnout. Here, we investigated associations between alexithymia and learning burnout, as well as the potential mediating role of self-compassion in a sample of 466 Chinese children and adolescents from primary and secondary schools. Mediation analysis showed that higher alexithymia was significantly associated with greater learning burnout, and this relationship was mediated by self-compassion. Findings suggest that promoting self-compassion may mitigate the adverse effects of alexithymia on learning burnout.