THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT IN PROMOTING PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING AND PREVENTING DROP-OUT: AN INTERVENTION TO SUSTAIN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DURING THEIR FIRST YEAR

Introduction: University students represent a group of notable interest which is drawing attention for clinical interventions, in light of the increasing of this population’s psychological problems. Along to the provision of mental health services, it is important to develop interventions oriented at promoting university students’ wellbeing and personal resources to foster their adjustment in the academic context. A crucial factor for university students’experience is the Academic Engagement (AE) which refers to the positive and proactive positioning that captures the quality of academic experience. AE may be conceived as a catalyst for positive processes that has both short-term and long-term effects on persistence, wellbeing, performance, and the drop-out risk. In this perspective, first year students may represent the eligible target for interventions aimed at promoting AE, as they live both a developmental (from adolescence to adulthood) and an educational transition (from school to university). Aim: Based on this theoretical premises and on previous research that demonstrated the role of AE in preventing psychological distress, we developed an intervention aimed at promoting students’AE during their first year at university, “Welcome, Freshmen!”. Methods: The intervention consisted of four thematic group sessions, each focused on specific AE dimensions, as theorized by the SInAPSi Academic Engagement Model: university and academic project value; perception of capability to persist in the academic project; relationship with peers and teachers; integration of the academic project in the wide relational net and personal project. In order to assess the efficacy of the intervention, we performed a quasi-experimental research design, providing the intervention to two of the four degree courses of the Department of Agriculture of University of Naples Federico II, namely Mediterranean and Gastronomical Sciences and Food Technology. The other two degree courses, Forest and Ambiental Sciences and Oenology and Viticulture, received a single session as a control condition. Both the experimental (N = 92) and control (N = 77) groups filled in a set of questionnaires for measuring AE, intention to drop-out, and academic performance. Results and Conclusion: We will discuss the methodology of the intervention, its implementation and preliminary results on its efficacy.