The mediating role of university mattering in the association between SEB skills and student wellbeing

University life represents a pivotal developmental stage characterized by substantial academic and social demands. Although Social, Emotional, and Behavioral (SEB) skills are increasingly recognized as malleable resources for student functioning and adjustment, evidence on their associations with wellbeing remains fragmented, and the psychosocial mechanisms linking these competencies to wellbeing are still debated. This study examined the mediating role of university mattering in the associations between the five SEB skill domains and overall wellbeing in the university context. Data from 700 Italian university students were analyzed using structural equation modeling. SEB skills were assessed using the BESSI-I, university mattering using the University Mattering Scale (UM-S), and overall wellbeing at university using the overall score of the PERMA-Profiler. University mattering was positively associated with university wellbeing and mediated the associations between specific SEB domains and wellbeing. Social engagement showed an indirect-only association with wellbeing through mattering. Cooperation showed a more complex pattern, with a positive indirect association through mattering and a negative direct association with wellbeing, although this pattern was less stable across alternative measurement specifications. Emotional resilience and self-management were directly associated with wellbeing, while emotional resilience also showed a significant indirect association through mattering. The central pattern involving Social Engagement, Emotional Resilience, and Self-Management remained stable across sensitivity analyses. This pattern was broadly comparable across Bachelor’s and Postgraduate students, although some residual structural heterogeneity could not be excluded. Overall, the findings suggest that SEB skills are differentially associated with wellbeing at university and that university mattering may represent one relevant psychosocial pathway through which some interpersonal and emotional competencies relate to students’ wellbeing.