{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T14:17:15Z","timestamp":1790000235071,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789948800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Academic involution may be experienced both as students' own excessive competitive behavior and as their perception that peers engage in such behavior. This study examined how academic involution behavior and perceived academic involution climate were concurrently associated with English learning intention, and whether psychological distress formed a negative statistical indirect association within the proposed model.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 1,683 students from nine universities in Chongqing, China. Academic involution behavior, perceived academic involution climate, psychological distress, and English learning intention were assessed using four self-report instruments; the English learning intention instrument was a researcher-developed contextual brief measure. A four-factor structural equation model was estimated using diagonally weighted least squares, with age, gender, and education level included as covariates. Five direct-association hypotheses and two negative statistical indirect-association hypotheses were evaluated.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Academic involution behavior was positively associated with psychological distress (\u03b2 = 0.207) and English learning intention (\u03b2 = 0.284), and perceived academic involution climate was positively associated with psychological distress (\u03b2 = 0.162) and English learning intention (\u03b2 = 0.137). Psychological distress was negatively associated with English learning intention (\u03b2 = \u22120.356; all focal paths\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001). The standardized statistical indirect associations through psychological distress were \u22120.074 for academic involution behavior and \u22120.058 for perceived academic involution climate. The model accounted for 10.8% of the variance in psychological distress and 21.2% of the variance in English learning intention.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The findings show contemporaneous positive direct associations alongside smaller negative statistical indirect associations, a pattern consistent with the proposed inconsistent mediation model. Because the data were cross-sectional and self-reported, the results do not establish temporal ordering, causal mediation, or intervention effects.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1943950","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T13:30:01Z","timestamp":1789997401000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Academic involution behavior, perceived academic involution climate, and English learning intention among college students: the indirect role of psychological distress"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Renlong","family":"Jiang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Foreign Languages, Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities, Duyun","place":["Guizhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinglan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The First Clinical College, Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhenzhen","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Second Clinical College, Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yandi","family":"Fu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Paediatric, Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juan","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Courses, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jin","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Courses, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qian","family":"Ran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Courses, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoxia","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Courses, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tengfei","family":"Niu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Courses, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1016\/0749-5978(91)90020-T","article-title":"The theory of planned behavior","volume":"50","author":"Ajzen","year":"1991","journal-title":"Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Proces."},{"key":"B2","author":"Ajzen","year":"2006","journal-title":"Constructing a Theory of Planned Behavior Questionnaire: Conceptual and Methodological Considerations"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"700","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare11050700","article-title":"The psychometric properties of the DASS-21 and its association with problematic internet use among Chinese college freshmen","volume":"11","author":"Cao","year":"2023","journal-title":"Healthcare"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1037\/0021-9010.85.1.65","article-title":"An empirical examination of self-reported work stress among U.S. managers","volume":"85","author":"Cavanaugh","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Appl. Psychol"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20876","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-025-04850-3","article-title":"Development and validation of academic involution scale for college students","volume":"15","author":"He","year":"2025","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"764","DOI":"10.5465\/amj.2005.18803921","article-title":"A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor-hindrance stressor framework: an explanation for inconsistent relationships among stressors and performance","volume":"48","author":"LePine","year":"2005","journal-title":"Acad. Manag. J."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"106427","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actpsy.2026.106427","article-title":"Associations between academic involution and depression in Chinese undergraduates: a serial mediation analysis of rest intolerance and burnout","volume":"264","author":"Li","year":"2026","journal-title":"Acta Psychol."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"870","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-18347-7","article-title":"Influence of academic involution atmosphere on college students' stress response: the chain mediating effect of relative deprivation and academic involution","volume":"24","author":"Liu","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1001","DOI":"10.1007\/s40299-024-00915-5","article-title":"Academic involution and mental internal friction of college students: the mediating role of academic stress and the moderating role of rumination","volume":"34","author":"Liu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Asia-Pacific Educ. Res."},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1016\/0005-7967(94)00075-U","article-title":"The structure of negative emotional states: comparison of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) with the beck depression and anxiety inventories","volume":"33","author":"Lovibond","year":"1995","journal-title":"Behav. Res. Ther."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"841","DOI":"10.1002\/berj.3797","article-title":"Global and local possible selves: differentiated strategies for positional competition among Chinese university students","volume":"48","author":"Mulvey","year":"2022","journal-title":"Br. Educ. Res. J."},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102475","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijer.2024.102475","article-title":"Impact of academic involution atmosphere on college students' mental exhaustion: a chain mediation model","volume":"128","author":"Ni","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Educ. Res."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3188","DOI":"10.1080\/01434632.2022.2091579","article-title":"Positive and negative emotions, L2 grit and perceived competence as predictors of L2 motivated behaviour","volume":"45","author":"Pawlak","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Multiling. Multicult. Dev."},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"346","DOI":"10.1017\/S0261444821000434","article-title":"Language learning and emotion","volume":"55","author":"Plonsky","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lang. Teach."},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-orgpsych-080422-052147","article-title":"Laying the foundation for the challenge-hindrance stressor framework 2.0","volume":"10","author":"Podsakoff","year":"2023","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav."},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1017\/S0261444825101031","article-title":"The role of positive and negative emotions in foreign language learning: a research agenda","volume":"2025","author":"Resnik","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lang. Teach"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"796","DOI":"10.1186\/s40359-024-02303-6","article-title":"Assessing the interactions between learning enjoyment, motivation, burnout, and grit in EFL students: a mixed-methods approach","volume":"12","author":"Song","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Psychol."},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1523205","DOI":"10.3389\/feduc.2025.1523205","article-title":"The influence of learning anxiety and involution on motivation among undergraduate English majors in Beijing and Macau","volume":"10","author":"Sukjairungwattana","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front. Educ."},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"847","DOI":"10.1002\/pits.23087","article-title":"Development and validation of an academic involution scale for college students in China","volume":"61","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Psychol. Sch."},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3009","DOI":"10.3390\/su12073009","article-title":"The relationship between English language learner characteristics and online self-regulation: a structural equation modeling approach","volume":"12","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sustainability"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1319","DOI":"10.2147\/PRBM.S520923","article-title":"Association between anxiety disorders and English academic writing performance among college students: the chain mediating role of learning motivation and metacognitive strategies","volume":"18","author":"Xu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychol. Res. Behav. Manag."},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1005708","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.1005708","article-title":"Influence of anxiety on university students' academic involution behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: mediating effect of cognitive closure needs","volume":"13","author":"Yan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.32604\/ijmhp.2026.075283","article-title":"Perceived involution and academic burnout among university students: the mediating role of anxiety and the moderating role of self-control","volume":"28","author":"Yang","year":"2026","journal-title":"Int. J. Mental Health Promotion"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9826","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19169826","article-title":"Does involution cause anxiety? An empirical study from Chinese universities","volume":"19","author":"Yi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105596","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actpsy.2025.105596","article-title":"Chinese students' English language learning intention and behavior: mediating effect of attitude and moderating effect of institutional support","volume":"260","author":"Yu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Acta Psychol."},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1080\/13598139.2019.1589369","article-title":"Self-regulated learning (SRL): a guide for the perplexed","volume":"30","author":"Zeidner","year":"2019","journal-title":"High Ability Stud."},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1340142","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2024.1340142","article-title":"English language learning anxiety and academic burnout in Chinese freshmen: a chain mediating approach","volume":"15","author":"Zheng","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"B28","first-page":"131","article-title":"The relationship between college freshmen's academic involution and their college adaptation: the moderating effect of academic involution atmosphere","volume":"43","author":"Zhou","year":"2022","journal-title":"Tsinghua J. Educ."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1943950\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T13:30:02Z","timestamp":1789997402000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1943950\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]]},"references-count":28,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1943950"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1943950","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]]},"article-number":"1943950"}}