From need satisfaction to academic achievement: pathways through wellbeing and engagement among university students across different Italian institutions

Abstract

University students face personal and academic demands that may challenge their adaptive functioning. Although intrinsic goals, need satisfaction, wellbeing, and academic engagement have been distinctively linked to academic achievement, an integrated model specifying how these constructs are structurally related and associated with students' academic outcomes is lacking. The present study addresses this gap by testing models grounded in Self-Determination Theory and previous evidence. Participants were 2891 university students ( M age = 23.22 years, SD age = 5.25 years; 74.75% women) recruited across multiple Italian universities. The online survey comprised different measures, including socio-demographic items, the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale, the Aspiration Index, the SInAPSi Academic Engagement Scale, and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form. Structural equation modeling was used to test two alternative model specifications. Starting from a more general model, progressively more parsimonious models were tested by constraining selected direct effects. The final model was selected based on comparative fit, overall model fit, parsimony, and theoretical coherence. The retained model specified wellbeing as antecedent to academic engagement. Within this model, basic psychological need satisfaction showed indirect links to academic achievement through wellbeing and academic engagement, while intrinsic goals were related to achievement only through academic engagement. Academic engagement emerged as the most proximal predictor of achievement, mediating the pathways from need satisfaction, intrinsic goals, and wellbeing. These findings provide an integrated account of how satisfaction of basic psychological needs, intrinsic motivations, wellbeing, and academic engagement relate to academic achievement in university students. Our evidence supports a model in which psychological need satisfaction represents a relevant condition associated with wellbeing, intrinsic goals contribute more specifically to academic engagement, and academic engagement acts as the proximal mechanism linking these factors with academic achievement. Beyond advancing theoretical understanding, our results may inform preventive programs and interventions nurturing students' wellbeing while also promoting their academic performance.