Supportive teachers, thriving students: Mindfulness, self-efficacy, and media engagement as pathways to well-being

Student mental well-being is a critical concern in higher education, influencing academic performance and personal growth. Grounded in broaden-and-build theory, this study examines how perceived teacher support, student trait mindfulness, self-efficacy, and engagement with mental health content in media jointly affect student well-being. We collected survey data from 458 university students in four major Chinese cities using a three-wave design. Key findings indicate that teacher support enhances student well-being both directly and indirectly through mindfulness and self-efficacy, with mindfulness emerging as a particularly strong mediator. Engagement with mental health media amplified the positive effect of mindfulness on well-being but did not significantly moderate the self-efficacy pathway. Theoretically, our work integrates psychological and media-related factors in the teacher-student context, extending research to a non-Western setting. Practically, the findings underscore the need for universities to foster supportive teacher-student relationships, cultivate students' mindfulness and self-efficacy, and leverage digital media resources to improve student mental health and resilience.