Academic Burden and Adolescent Mental Health Under China’s “Double Reduction” Policy: The Composite Associative Pathways of Perceived Stress and Self-Efficacy

Background and aims: Adolescent mental health is a core component of Goal 3 “Good Health and Well-being” in the SDGs. This study explores the relationship between academic burden and adolescent mental health under China’s “Double Reduction” policy, as well as the roles of perceived stress and self-efficacy in this relationship. Method: Using the purposive sampling method, 842 samples of junior high school students in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, China, were effectively collected. Statistical analyses included a common method bias test, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression and the Bootstrap method. Results: Studies have shown that under the “Double Reduction” policy, there are pairwise correlations between academic burden, perceived stress, self-efficacy and adolescent mental health. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristic covariates, academic burden remained significantly negatively correlated with adolescent mental health (β = −0.277, p < 0.001), and the negative correlation degree between in-school academic burden and mental health (β = −0.295, p < 0.001) was greater than that of out-of-school academic burden (β = −0.070, p < 0.05). Furthermore, perceived stress and self-efficacy exhibited a composite correlational linkage pattern within this relationship—simultaneously encompassing both parallel and serial multiple associative pathways. Conclusion: Under the “Double Reduction” policy, academic burden and Chinese adolescents’ mental health show a significant negative association, with perceived stress and self-efficacy acting as key bridges.