The Ripple Effects of Toxic Supervision on Academic Performance in Doctoral Programs: Investigating Mediation and Moderation Mechanisms
Authors: Hermana Deni , M. Ramdhan Rudy , Kisahwan Daniel , Winarno Alex 
Published: February 2025

Aim/Purpose: This study examines the role of psychological capital (PsyCap) as a moderating variable and burnout as a mediator in the relationship between toxic supervision on academic performance in doctoral programs.

Background: Academic supervision is important in supporting students’ success in completing the doctoral program. However, there is a dark side that needs to be more widely revealed in the literature related to this process. Toxic academic supervision (TAS) for doctoral students is toxic leadership, which manifests as being associated with burnout, academic performance, and dropout rates. PsyCap, with the main elements of self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience, plays an important role in helping reduce negative and positive academic impacts. However, empirical evidence is needed to show the role of PsyCap in academic supervision of doctoral programs.

Methodology: The choice of research method is based on the aim to generalize knowledge in solving fundamental problems and challenges in supervision as a managerial issue in the super academic vision of the hypothetico-deductive method with a survey involving 221 doctoral students from social disciplines selected randomly, inferential analysis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

Contribution: This study contributes significantly to understanding the role of PsyCap in the context of toxic academic supervision and its implications for the mental well-being and academic success of postgraduate students. Furthermore, it offers a new approach to mitigating the negative effects of toxic leadership through PsyCap. This study reinforces the core idea of the Stress-as-Offense-to-Self (SOS) theory, which suggests that negative perceptions of how one is treated, particularly in academic supervision, can trigger feelings of humiliation and failure, ultimately leading to burnout and diminished academic performance.

Findings: PsyCap reduces the negative impact of toxic supervision on the academic performance of doctoral students. Even though toxic supervision significantly increases burnout and decreases academic performance, doctoral students with high levels of PsyCap tend to be more resilient to these negative impacts. Self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience mitigate the negative impact of toxic supervision on burnout and academic performance.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Universities need to develop policies and programs that support the quality of supervision and student well-being. Interventions to enhance PsyCap among students, such as developing self-efficacy, optimism, and resilience, can help mitigate the negative effects of toxic academic supervision and maintain academic performance. These findings reinforce the importance of building PsyCap as a moderating variable to mitigate the negative effects of toxic supervision.

Recommendation for Researchers: Exploration of other factors besides PsyCap that may play a role as moderators in the relationship between toxic academic supervision and burnout, such as academic culture, social support, academic environment, or coping styles, is suggested for further studies in relation to toxic supervision, burnout, and academic performance.

Impact on Society: This study extends the scope of the SOS theory by incorporating resource scarcity as one of the stress triggers.

Future Research: Future studies should also explore differences among PsyCap elements (self-efficacy, optimism, and resilience) that influence the impact of toxic supervision.