Role of job burnout and work engagement in the relationship between mental health literacy and life satisfaction in Chinese Barefoot Social Workers: A serial mediation model based on the job demands-resources theory

Background Barefoot social workers play an essential role in providing child welfare services, and their life satisfaction is critical but often ignored. Mental health literacy has been shown to be associated with life satisfaction, yet the mechanisms underlying such an association remain understudied. Guided by the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, this study aimed to investigate the mediating effects of job burnout and work engagement in the relationship between Chinese barefoot social workers' mental health literacy and life satisfaction for the first time. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study involving 1252 Chinese barefoot social workers was conducted from April to June 2023. Pearson's bivariate correlation analysis was conducted to identify correlations. The mediating effect was analyzed using SPSS PROCESS v.4.3. Results The correlation analysis results showed that mental health literacy (r = 0.12, p < 0.01), job burnout (r=-0.14, p < 0.01), and work engagement (r = 0.46, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with life satisfaction. Job burnout and work engagement serially and partially mediated the association between mental health literacy and life satisfaction, with a total indirect effect of 0.071 (95%CI:0.056 ~ 0.087). Conclusion Our findings support the potential mediating roles of job burnout and work engagement in the relationship between mental health literacy and life satisfaction. These findings hold significant implications for devising effective and targeted psychological intervention programs to improve life satisfaction among Barefoot social workers.