Associations Between Playful Study Design and Multidimensional Well-Being: The Indirect Role of Student Engagement Among Italian University Students

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Abstract
University students face sustained academic demands that can compromise engagement and positive mental health, underscoring the need to identify modifiable everyday strategies that support health promotion in higher education. Drawing on Study Demands–Resources theory and proactive motivational perspectives, this cross-sectional study examined the direct and indirect associations among playful study design (PSD)—students’ self-initiated efforts to make study activities more enjoyable (designing fun) and more challenging (designing competition)—student engagement, and emotional, social, and psychological well-being. A sample of 511 Italian university students completed validated measures of PSD, student engagement, and positive mental health. The hypothesized indirect-association model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapped confidence intervals. PSD was positively associated with student engagement and with all three dimensions of well-being. Significant indirect associations between PSD and emotional, social, and psychological well-being through student engagement were observed. After accounting for student engagement, none of the direct associations between PSD and the three well-being dimensions were statistically significant in the primary ML analysis. The model showed a mixed pattern of fit: RMSEA and SRMR indicated acceptable fit, whereas CFI and TLI remained below conventional thresholds. These findings extend emerging PSD research by identifying student engagement as having an indirect role in the associations between the playful redesign of study activities and multidimensional positive mental health. Given the cross-sectional design, the results do not establish temporal precedence or causal mediation. The findings provide a preliminary rationale for further longitudinal and intervention research, but do not establish the effectiveness or practical feasibility of PSD-based initiatives.

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