The Impact of Family Factors on Study Weariness among Junior School Students: the Mediating role of Self-efficacy

This study investigates how three core family factors—family communication patterns, family functioning, and family relationship quality—jointly influence study weariness among junior secondary school students, with self-efficacy as a mediating mechanism. Drawing upon Family Systems Theory and Self-Efficacy Theory, we propose and empirically test an integrated “Family–Self-Efficacy–Burnout” framework. A stratified cluster sample of 804 students from urban and rural schools in Taizhou, China, completed validated measures of the target constructs. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine causal pathways, complemented by artificial neural network (ANN) analysis to assess predictive power and variable importance. Results show that conversation-oriented communication, functional adaptability, and high-quality family relationships significantly enhance self-efficacy, which in turn reduces study weariness. Self-efficacy partially mediates all three family–burnout links. ANN analysis further underscores self-efficacy as the strongest proximal predictor, while family relationship quality emerges as the most influential environmental factor. These findings advance theory by integrating multiple family-level predictors and a psychological mediator within a unified framework, and methodologically by demonstrating the complementary strengths of SEM and ANN in educational research. Policy implications include embedding structured family communication training and self-efficacy enhancement programs into school–family partnerships to address the deep psychosocial roots of study weariness.