Student engagement research in university students has been scarce,
despite its major positive role on performance, degree completion and
mental health. Social and emotional competencies, which are currently
called twenty-first-century skills, exert some impact on student
engagement in youth. Since engagement is cultural-sensitive, individual
(social and emotional competencies) and cross-cultural (human
developmental index and unemployment rate) characteristics were
examined in association with student engagement in youth. This study
included 2,092 participants from nine countries/regions, aged between
17 and 27 years (M = 21.52, SD = 2.27), mostly cisgender woman (n =
1,035, 68.7%) and undergraduate (n = 1,401, 96.2%). Data were collected
using a cross-sectional online survey that included the Student
Engagement Scale, the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire,
and the prosocial behaviour/resources subscale of the Strengths and
Difficulties Questionnaire. Multilevel-models showed that social and
emotional competencies were relevant predictors of student
engagement independently of the country-level variables. Moreover,
student engagement varied with country/region human development
and unemployment rate, with students from higher developed
countries/regions and lowered unemployment reporting lower
engagement. This study reinforces the need to implement evidencebased social and emotional learning programmes in universities
worldwide, as well as public policies that can influence engagement
and protect youth.