The relationship between adolescent legal cognition and academic burnout: the moderating role of satisfaction with the natural environment

Background Academic burnout is common among adolescents and is linked to adverse academic and behavioral outcomes. Although poor academic performance is a known risk factor for juvenile delinquency and legal cognition has been identified as a protective factor against delinquent behavior, the relationship between legal cognition and academic burnout has not been examined. Methods In June 2024, 518 in-school students (secondary and university) in Zhejiang Province, China completed measures of legal cognition, academic burnout, and natural-environment satisfaction. Data were analyzed in SPSS: Pearson correlations, hierarchical regression controlling for gender, age, and parental education, and simple-slope tests with 5,000 bootstrap resamples to probe significant interactions. Results Legal cognition correlated negatively with academic burnout ( r = −0.16, p < 0.001) and positively with natural-environment satisfaction ( r = 0.34, p < 0.001); burnout correlated negatively with natural-environment satisfaction ( r = −0.12, p = 0.010). In regression models, legal cognition negatively predicted burnout (β = −0.19, p < 0.001). Importantly, the interaction between legal cognition and natural-environment satisfaction was significant (β = −0.08, p = 0.038), and simple-slope tests showed that the inverse association between legal cognition and burnout was stronger at higher levels of natural-environment satisfaction. Conclusion Legal cognition is inversely associated with adolescent academic burnout, and this protective effect is amplified when students report greater satisfaction with their natural environment. Findings support integrated interventions that combine legal-education components with environmental improvements to mitigate academic burnout.