Relationship between empathy and burnout among preschool teachers: an analysis based on a multiverse-style and response surface

To explore the relationship and its mechanisms between empathy and burnout among preschool teachers, data from 1577 preschool teachers were analyzed using a multiverse-style analysis approach to test the robustness of the relationship between empathy and burnout. Based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory and the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study employs Response Surface Analysis (RSA) to examine the relationship between empathy and occupational burnout, while exploring the mediating roles of three emotional labor strategies (surface acting, deep acting and natural acting) and the moderating effect of mindfulness. The translation strictly adheres to the original Chinese meaning, conforms to academic writing norms, and follows English idiomatic expressions in a single coherent paragraph. The results of the multiverse-style analysis indicate that the relationship between empathy and burnout is robust. RSA analysis shows that this relationship is curvilinear, where empathy positively affects burnout in the initial stages but negatively in the later stages. Surface acting and natural acting have mediating effects, whereas deep acting does not. Mindfulness moderates the relationship between empathy and both deep acting and natural acting, but not surface acting.