The mediating role of academic satisfaction and examination-related stress in explaining the association between academic grit and university students' subjective well-being

Introduction: Subjective well-being is increasingly recognized as crucial for the psychological adjustment and academic functioning of university students. Academic grit may represent an important resource for students’ well-being, but the mechanisms underlying this association remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to examine the role of academic satisfaction and examinationrelated stress in mediating the relationship between academic grit and subjective well-being. Methods: A convenience sample of 778 university students (age range: 19–69, M-age = 27.9, SD-age = 9.9) participated in the study. The study included the following instruments: Academic Grit Scale, College Satisfaction Scale (C-Sat), Examination stress sub-scale of E-CEA, Well-being Profile (WB-Pro). Data were analysed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) combining latent and observed variables and maximum likelihood estimation in LISREL. Results: Academic grit was directly and indirectly associated with subjective wellbeing through academic satisfaction and examination-related stress. Academic satisfaction emerged as the primary indirect pathway linking academic grit to subjective well-being, whereas examination-related stress played a smaller, although still significant, role. The overall model explained 48.5% of the variance in subjective well-being (R2 = 0.485). Conclusion: Academic grit may represent a relevant psychosocial resource for university students’ subjective well-being. Its association with well-being appears to be partly explained by higher academic satisfaction and lower examination-related stress. These findings suggest that university well-being interventions should consider both the promotion of positive academic experiences, and the management of examination demands.