The Study Demands-Resources Framework: An Empirical Introduction

• Main Authors: Tino Lesener, Leonard Santiago Pleiss, Burkhard Gusy, Christine Wolter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: study demands-resources framework; student engagement; student burnout; mental health; university students
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/14/5183
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

Based on the well-established job demands-resources (JD-R) framework, in our study we introduce the novel study demands-resources (SD-R) framework. The SD-R framework allows the study of salutogenic and pathogenic effects of university settings on students’ health and well-being. Using a large sample of university students (<i>n</i> = 5660), our aim was to translate and validate the JD-R’s essential assumptions within the university context, and thus establish the SD-R framework. We performed structural equation modelling to examine these essential assumptions. As assumed, we found that study demands—the “bad things” at university—predict student burnout (β = 0.50), whereas study resources—the “good things” at university—predict student engagement (β = 0.70) as well as burnout (β = −0.35). Also, in line with the SD-R’s assumptions, student burnout predicts life satisfaction negatively (β = −0.34), whereas student engagement predicts life satisfaction positively (β = 0.29). Hence, we were able to introduce the novel SD-R framework and validate its core assumptions. The SD-R framework serves as an excellent theoretical basis to examine both the salutogenic and pathogenic effects of the study context on students’ health and well-being. However, the framework needs further longitudinal and meta-analytical verification in accordance with the research on the JD-R framework.