Date of Award

Spring 5-2-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Leah Dickens

Second Advisor

Paula Millin-Lipnos

Abstract

Social support is associated with many positive effects for college students, including objective measures of academic success. However, little research focuses on the relationship between social support and students’ perceptions of academic success (PAS). Further, not much is known about how different sources of social support may influence college students’ PAS. In this study, students completed a survey to investigate how social support from parents, professors, and friends differentially influence their perceptions of academic success. Additionally, given the centrality of academics in college students' lives, PAS was hypothesized to influence downstream variables. To that end, this survey also examined how PAS impacted students’ sense of well-being and pride. Results indicated that only social support from friends significantly predicted college students’ PAS. We also found that PAS predicted both well-being and pride. Lastly, given a strong correlation between measures of academic success, well-being, and pride, I combined these three measures into an overall variable of “student wellness.” I found that social support from friends was a statistically significant predictor of student wellness, and support from professors acted as a marginal predictor. The implications of these findings are further discussed in the paper.

Rights Statement

All rights reserved. This copy is provided to the Kenyon Community solely for individual academic use. For any other use, please contact the copyright holder for permission.

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