This study examined the relationships among future time perspective, academic burnout, internet addiction, and study engagement in university students, incorporating internet addiction and study engagement as mediators of the relationship between future time perspective and academic burnout. We employed a cross-sectional survey design among 443 university students, comprising sociodemographic questions, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, the Academic Burnout Scale, the Internet Addiction Test, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Regression analysis results revealed significant negative correlations between future time perspective, academic burnout, and internet addiction, and a positive correlation between future time perspective and study engagement. Structural equation modeling indicated that future time perspective not only directly influenced academic burnout but also exerted an indirect effect through internet addiction and study engagement. These findings have implications for the intervention in and prevention of academic burnout in university students.
Zhong et al. (2026) studied this question.