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Ahmadi Basiri Z, Bayat Asghari A, Yazdani H. The Role of Emotional Exhaustion and Mental Toughness in Predicting Psychological Wellbeing in Adolescents. Pract Clin Psychol 2026; 14 (4) :339-346
URL: http://jpcp.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-1106-fa.html

Objective: This cross-sectional correlational study investigated the associations between emotional exhaustion, mental toughness (also referred to as psychological hardiness), and psychological wellbeing among Iranian adolescents.
Methods: We selected a sample of 241 high school students (aged 15–18 y; 53.1% female) from Isfahan City, Iran, through multi-stage cluster sampling. Participants completed the 18-item short form of Ryff’s psychological wellbeing scale (α=0.83), the emotional exhaustion scale (α=0.84), and the psychological hardiness scale (α=0.85). Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression in SPSS software, version 26.
Results: Emotional exhaustion was negatively associated with psychological wellbeing (r=-0.44, P<0.01), while mental toughness showed a positive association (r=0.43, P<0.01), with the control dimension demonstrating the strongest correlation (r=0.49, P<0.01). Emotional exhaustion and mental toughness together accounted for 26% of the variance in wellbeing (R²=0.26, F=42.67, P<0.001). Both were significantly associated with all 6 dimensions of psychological wellbeing.
Conclusion: Findings suggest that emotional exhaustion is a risk factor and mental toughness a protective resource. Strengthening the sense of control may buffer negative associations. However, because the study is cross-sectional, causal inferences cannot be made, and the modest explained variance suggests other important factors. Generalizability is limited to similar Iranian high school populations.