The relationship between social support and job burnout among mixed-age early childhood teachers: mediating role of psychological resilience and moderating role of self-efficacy.

Introduction: Based on the Conservation of Resources theory and Social Cognitive Theory, this study aims to explore the intrinsic relationship between social support and job burnout among mixed-age early childhood teachers, while examining the mediating role of psychological resilience and the moderating role of self-efficacy. Methods: A stratified cluster sampling method was employed to conduct questionnaire surveys among 274 mixed-age class teachers in Xi'an. Data analysis was performed using the PROCESS macro in SPSS to test a moderated mediation model. Results: The findings revealed that: (1) social support was significantly negatively correlated with job burnout; (2) the tenacity dimension of psychological resilience mediated the relationship between social support and job burnout; (3) the moderating effect of self-efficacy exhibited dimension-specific patterns: it not only positively moderated the direct negative predictive effect of social support on job burnout but also moderated the latter half of the mediating pathway. Specifically, under high self-efficacy conditions, the strength dimension of psychological resilience was associated with higher levels of burnout, whereas under low self-efficacy conditions, the optimism dimension was linked to higher levels of burnout. Discussion: This study elucidates the pathway mechanism through which social support alleviates job burnout by enhancing psychological tenacity, while also clarifying the dual role of self-efficacy as both a catalyst and a boundary condition in the resource gain process. The results provide empirical evidence for designing targeted social support systems and psychological resilience intervention programs for mixed-age early childhood teachers.