Purpose: This study endeavours to investigate the reciprocal association between HEI student's psychological wellbeing and their academic engagement, informed by an amalgamation of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Study Demands-Resources (SD-R) model, and elements of the Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions. It also examines the extent to which life satisfaction of HEI students contributes to the association between their wellbeing and engagement in academics.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of 350 HEI students in India conducted using validated scales for psychological well-being, academic engagement, and life satisfaction uses hierarchical linear regression to access the reciprocal associations and PROCESS macro moderation analysis.
Findings: Results revealed a bidirectional association in the HEI students' psychological wellbeing and academic engagement. Also, life satisfaction significantly moderated the impact of HEI students' wellbeing on their academic engagement, while it was not applicable to the reverse path.
Implications: These findings suggest that students with greater life satisfaction experience enhanced intrinsic motivation and amplify the effect of wellbeing on engagement. It further explains how well-being broadens thought-action repertoires, facilitating sustained academic engagement and life satisfaction acts as an additional resource that buffers or amplifies this effect.
Originality: The novelty of this work lies in the demonstration of the reciprocal association between HEI students' wellbeing and academic engagement, having major implications for the educational administrators, policy makers, and educational leaders, providing a nuanced understanding of student success mechanisms in HEIs.