Doctoral Student Well‑being: Antecedents and Consequences Through the Job Demands–Resources Lens

Abstract Book of the 10th World Conference on Teaching and Education

Year: 2026

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Doctoral Student Well‑being: Antecedents and Consequences Through the Job Demands–Resources Lens

Prof. Dr. Guo Qiang Tan

ABSTRACT:

This study investigates the predictors and consequences of doctoral students’ well-being through the lens of the Job Demands-Resources model. Using a quantitative correlational design, the research examines how the quality of the research environment influences psychological well-being and, subsequently, students’ intentions to quit. Data were collected from 278 doctoral students across the Asia region via an online survey using simple random sampling. The results indicate that the quality of the research environment is a significant positive predictor of psychological well-being (β = 0.412, p < 0.001), which in turn negatively predicts the intention to quit (β = 0.448, p < 0.001). Furthermore, psychological well-being was found to mediate the relationship between the research environment and attrition intentions (β = 0.185, p = 0.001). The model explains 56.5% of the variance in intentions to quit. These findings offer critical insights for higher education institutions seeking to improve doctoral completion rates by fostering supportive research environments through enhanced supervision, resources, research community engagement, and professional development opportunities.

Keywords: Doctoral well-being, Job Demands-Resource model, research environment, intention to quit, PLS-SEM