Fostering study crafting to increase engagement and reduce exhaustion among higher education students: A randomized controlled trial of the STUDYCoach online intervention

Abstract

The study demands–resources framework states that study demands increase exhaustion and study resources increase engagement. Study crafting describes a student's proactive adaption to demands and resources. To date, no intervention in the higher education context has aimed to foster study crafting. Accordingly, this study developed and evaluated the STUDYCoach online intervention, which aimed to increase engagement and reduce exhaustion by promoting study crafting. The study was a randomized controlled trial with a waiting-list control group. All participants (N = 209) completed a questionnaire before (T1) and after (T2) the intervention and at a 20-week follow-up (T3). Participants in the intervention group (n = 149) used the STUDYCoach over three consecutive weeks. Results showed that overall study crafting, decreasing hindering demands, and engagement significantly increased in the intervention group compared to the control group after the intervention. All effects remained stable at follow-up. Notably, exhaustion decreased significantly in the intervention group from T1 to T3 and T2 to T3. Study crafting mediated the intervention's effect on engagement and exhaustion. Our study extends the study demands–resources framework and the literature on job crafting by confirming that study crafting interventions can be effective in higher education.