The Relationship between Math-Gender Stereotype and Academic Burnout: The Mediating Roles of the Performance-Avoidance Goal and Self-Handicapping

In the current study, we examined the relationship between math-gender stereotypes, academic burnout, achievement goal orientation, and self-handicapping in Chinese adolescent students. The data came from 1170 participants (552 boys and 618 girls) from four secondary schools and was analyzed with structural equation models. The results showed that the math-gender stereotype was positively associated with academic burnout in the girls' group. Meanwhile, girls' endorsement of the math-gender stereotype was positively associated with academic burnout through the individual mediating effect of the performance-avoidance goal and that of self-handicapping. More importantly, the chain from performance-avoidance goal to self-handicapping also played a mediating role in the relationship between math-gender stereotypes and academic burnout among adolescent girls. However, in the boys' group, we did not find an obvious significant relationship between math-gender stereotypes and academic burnout. The results can contribute to the theoretical system of the motivational mechanism of academic burnout, and it may also have implications on the practice of alleviating negative effects of math-gender stereotypes on academic burnout through minimizing the tendency of performance-avoidance goals and self-handicapping.