The mediating role of academic engagement in the relationship between reflective functioning, psychological distress and intention to dropout during COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigates the mediating role of academic engagement (AE) in the relationships between reflective functioning (RF), psychological distress (PD), and intention to drop out among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research explores how shifting academic modalities— ranging from online learning during the second lockdown (T1), to blended learning post-lockdown (T2), and finally face-to-face learning after the end of the pandemic (T3)—affect AE and its effect on students’ mental health and persistence at university. Data from 1177 Italian university students were analyzed using multigroup structural equation model, considering as splitting variable an innovative measure of gender differences, academic gender congruence (AGC), namely the match between students’ perceptions of themselves in terms of gender and the perception of the gender composition of their degree course. Results indicated that AE mediates the relationship between RF, PD, and intention to dropout across all phases, with the strongest protective effects observed during the online learning phase (T1), especially for incongruent students. The findings also suggested that the transition between different learning modes and students’ academic gender congruence impacted the mediating role of AE. Overall, the study showed that gender incongruence represented a risk factor impacting on AE, and in turn on persistence, and it emphasized the role of academic environments that contribute to contrast gender incongruence and foster student retention and engagement during critical contingencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, these results highlighted the importance of addressing students’ PD needs and AE, through tailored clinical interventions in higher education.