Promoting University Students’ Well-being and Resilience by Means of a Game-Approach Basic Psychological Need Intervention: a Case Study

Abstract

Compromised university students’ well-being remains a pressing issue that may be addressed with interventions. This case study evaluates a positive psychology intervention aimed to raise awareness regarding how students’ basic psychological needs can promote their well-being (a), provide a shared responsibility for students and teachers to co-create their course (b), and satisfy their needs throughout this process (c). We hypothesised that students in an intervention condition would demonstrate greater need satisfaction than a control condition over time and that greater need satisfaction relates to improved well-being and resilience. In addition, we aimed to understand how the participants perceived the intervention. We compared an intervention course (n = 56) with a control course (n = 25). We tested the intervention with a mixed-method pre-post design and used quantitative survey as well as qualitative observational and interview data. We found mixed findings regarding the intervention’s impact on students, with qualitative data providing a more nuanced picture. Although their needs remain unaffected by the intervention, they qualitatively reported that it satisfied their autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Of the three needs, only competence related to students’ well-being and resilience, but qualitatively, they stressed autonomy and relatedness as essential as well. When asked how they experienced the intervention, participants noted issues, such as social hesitance when playing with strangers, though they also reported various benefits regarding the content and social aspects. Therefore, we see potential in such game-based systemic interventions to create a healthy academic learning environment.