How Does Belief in a Just World Affect the Life Satisfaction of University Teachers?

To explore the relationship between university teachers’ Belief in a just world (BJW) and Life Satisfaction (LS), and to identify underlying mediating mechanisms, this study employed a structural equation model with BJW as the independent variable, LS as the dependent variable, job burnout (JB) and gratitude as mediating variables, and subjective economic status as a control variable. A sample of 225 university teachers completed the Belief in a Just World Questionnaire, the Teacher Job Burnout Questionnaire, the Gratitude Questionnaire-6, and the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire. Results showed: (1) BJW directly and positively predicted LS (β = 0.28, P < 0.001); (2) JB and Gratitude exerted parallel mediating effects between the relationship of BJW and LS (indirect effects = 0.221 and 0.060, respectively).

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