Perceived pressure among doctoral students shows a positive direct association and multiple indirect associations with learning engagement. From a Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) perspective, these findings suggest that perceived pressure may function as a challenge demand when adequate resources are available, and that social support and academic self-efficacy jointly facilitate engagement through a sequential resource pathway. While focusing on doctoral students' learning engagement, higher education institutions should emphasize the development of robust social support systems and the enhancement of academic self-efficacy to assist doctoral students in transforming stress into a sustained driving force for academic development.
Zhang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.