Psychological Distress, Student Engagement, Academic Burnout, and Dropout Risk: A Multidimensional Structural Equation Model

Abstract

This study examined the cross-sectional associations among psychological distress, student engagement, academic burnout, and dropout risk, with particular attention to the indirect role of engagement. Questionnaire data were obtained from 3099 students across 31 departments at a single institution, the University of Patras, Greece. Competing measurement models were evaluated before structural estimation. Psychological distress was represented by a HADS bifactor model, engagement and burnout by higher-order structures, and dropout risk by an Academic-reference bifactor-(S−1) model retaining Personal, Institutional, Social, and Economic residual specific factors. The final model was estimated using robust maximum likelihood with full-information maximum likelihood and department-clustered robust inference, showing acceptable approximate fit. General psychological distress was negatively associated with engagement (β = −0.386), while engagement was negatively associated with burnout (β = −0.577) and Academic-referenced dropout risk (β = −0.664). Distress also retained positive direct associations with burnout (β = 0.375) and dropout risk (β = 0.244). Significant indirect associations through engagement were observed for burnout (β = 0.223) and dropout risk (β = 0.256). The findings indicate that engagement is strongly associated with both outcomes, while burnout and dropout risk retain distinct multidimensional measurement structures. Given the cross-sectional design, the indirect effects should be interpreted as statistical associations rather than evidence of causal mediation.