Open Access

ARTICLE

Structural Relationships between Perceived Psychological Well-Being, Social Support, Academic Engagement, and School-Life Satisfaction among Students Participating in School Esports Activities

Gwang-Soo Oh^1,#, Je-Seong Lee^2,#, Myeong-Hun Bae^3,*

1 Asia Esports Industry Support Center, Chosun University, 31 Chosundae 5-Gil, Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, 61452, Republic of Korea
2 Department of Physical Education, Gwangju National University of Education, Gwangju Metropolitan City, 61204, Republic of Korea
3 Department of Elementary Education, College of First, Korea National University of Education, Cheongju-si, 28173, Republic of Korea

* Corresponding Author: Myeong-Hun Bae. Email:
# These authors contributed equally to this work

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Enhancing Mental Health through Physical Activity: Exploring Resilience Across Populations and Life Stages)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2025, 27(11), 1729-1745. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2025.071944

Received 16 August 2025; Accepted 29 October 2025; Issue published 28 November 2025

Abstract

Background: With the rapid growth of digital learning environments, esports has emerged as a popular form of school-based activity that promotes teamwork, motivation, and engagement. However, limited research has examined how participation in esports relates to students’ psychological and academic development. To address this gap, the present study identified structural relationships between perceived psychological well-being, social support, academic engagement, and school-life satisfaction among students participating in school-based esports activities. Methods: We surveyed 588 students who competed in on-campus esports tournaments across 15 secondary schools in Gwangju Metropolitan City, South Korea. Psychological well-being, social support, academic engagement, and school-life satisfaction were measured using five-point Likert scales. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to test the hypotheses, and mediation effects were assessed via bootstrapping (1000 resamples, 95% confidence interval) and competing model analysis. Results: The results showed that psychological well-being has significant positive effects on social support (β = 0.899, p < 0.001) and academic engagement (β = 0.427, p < 0.01). Social support positively predicted school-life satisfaction (β = 0.804, p < 0.001). Psychological well-being did not directly influence this outcome; instead, it exerted an indirect effect via social support (indirect effect = 0.676, 95% confidence interval [0.549, 0.782]), indicating that social support functioned as a full mediator. Conclusion: Overall, the results demonstrate that school-based esports activities may serve as educational contexts that enhance students’ overall satisfaction with school experiences through increased social support. Importantly, these findings highlight the unique psychosocial mechanisms of esports participation, including digital identity, online belonging, and virtual collaboration, which extend beyond traditional educational activities. Because the impact of academic engagement may depend on the quality of participation, future esports programs should incorporate support systems that foster autonomous and collaborative engagement and include digital-citizenship education.

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