College Students and Social Support
College students benefit significantly from social support, which encompasses encouragement and aid from parents, peers, and instructors. Engaging with motivated peers fosters a positive learning environment, while strong parental involvement can enhance students' self-regulation and intrinsic motivation. Healthy parent-student relationships continue to be crucial during college, influencing students' academic performance and social behaviors, such as alcohol consumption. Professors also play an essential role by employing autonomy-supportive teaching methods, which can motivate students and cultivate a love for learning. Engaging with campus communities, including clubs and faith groups, can further bolster social support and contribute to students' overall well-being. Additionally, promoting a respectful and inclusive environment is vital, as many students face challenges related to discrimination and stereotyping. Overall, the interplay of support from family, friends, and educators significantly impacts college students' academic success and mental health.
College Students and Social Support
Abstract
It is important for college students to interact regularly with peers who are motivated to learn in college, rather than surrounding themselves with students who are abusing alcohol or illegal substances and modeling a lack of devotion to their studies. This is because a passion for learning and healthy habits can spread among peers. Parents still play an important role in the psychological and academic development of their college students. Professors can also provide social support through autonomy supportive teaching and providing well-designed cooperative activities.
Overview
Social support for college students includes aid and encouragement from parents, fellow students, and instructors (Perry, Fisher, Caemmerer, Keith & Poklar, 2015). In fact, the right kind of support from each of these groups contributes to the development of healthy self-regulation, which includes intrinsic motivation and the use of metacognitive learning strategies (e.g., reviewing the quality of one’s comprehension of text and re-reading text or taking richer notes as necessary; Perry et al., 2015). Promoting intrinsic motivation through social support is crucial, because intrinsic motivation is the nexus between psychological health and academic success (Froiland, Mayor & Herlevi, 2015; Froiland, Oros, Smith & Hirchert, 2012). As a crucial source of social support throughout childhood and young adulthood, parents play a strong role in the development of student’s self-regulation, intrinsic motivation to learn, and achievement from preschool to college (Froiland, 2011; Powell, Son, File & Froiland, 2012; Shannon, Barry, DeGrace & DiDonato, 2015). Furthermore, parents also influence how much beer students consume in college, which, in turn, predicts the development of alcohol use disorder (Whitney & Froiland, 2015).
The nature of parent involvement in education changes as students approach college, but certain aspects of parent involvement and parenting are still vital. For example, while parents often do not need to provide homework support in college, positive parent expectations can still help students believe that they will succeed and work hard to achieve accordingly (Froiland, Peterson & Davison, 2013; Froiland & Davison, 2014). While it is true that parenting styles throughout childhood prepare students for college, the way parents interact with their students during college can still promote motivation, self-regulation, and psychological well-being (Alt, 2015; Shannon et al., 2015; Whitney & Froiland, 2015). Each of these important psychological factors promotes achievement in college, success in life after college, and the development of healthy social relationships.
Another potentially valuable vehicle for social support may be through engaging with coaches, club leaders, and clergy at campus ministries or nearby churches. If faith was important to a college student in their home town, it is worthwhile for them to continue to seek out gatherings with others who share their faith, as actualizing this part of their life is related to happiness, less depression, greater achievement and greater health (Sternthal, Williams, Musick & Buck, 2010; Powell et al., 2012). In fact, higher levels of church attendance predicts lower levels of substance use, better mood, and greater health over twenty years later (Koenig & Valliant, 2009). Professors and other college instructors also hold the potential to provide a fair amount of social support to many students at once.
Further Insights
As college students are generally adults who have moved away from home, the influence of peers, positive or negative, becomes more marked than ever before in most students lives. For example, friends that have high expectations for themselves (e.g., they believe they will graduate college, have a successful career and/or will complete a graduate or professional degree after college) are more likely to study diligently and model the type of dedication that is necessary to thrive in college (Froiland, 2014). On the other hand, hanging out extensively with students who show little interest in their studies and are at-risk of dropping out of college, may lead to the development of less motivation to study and a greater risk for dropping out of college.
Parental Expectations
Parents that are autonomy supportive and authoritative are less likely to have college students that succumb to the temptation of becoming inebriated often with peers, whereas permissive parents (parents who provide few or unclear expectations and little guidance) have students who are at a higher risk for drinking frequently and developing alcohol use disorder (Whitney & Froiland, 2015). Alcohol use disorder affects students’ well-being in many ways, including ruining many social relationships, decreasing academic success, predicting dropout from college, decreasing physical health, impairing memory, and putting students at-risk for driving while intoxicated.
This parental influence on drinking intersects with peer influences, because students whose parents support their development of healthy self-regulation and self-control are more likely to seek out and develop friendships with students who are also staying focused on learning during college, attending class regularly, and practicing safe behaviors. Permissive parents also have students with amotivation in college, which is a lack of either intrinsic or extrinsic motivation (Alt, 2015), which means that permissive parenting puts students at-risk for both alcohol abuse and lacking the motivation or incentive to work hard in college.
Professors
College professors, especially at large universities, may not feel like they are a part of an undergraduate students’ social support system, because students may only have one class with each professor and there may be scores or even hundreds of students in any particular class. However, social support is not synonymous with friendship, even though good friends often do provide crucial social support. Professors may provide social support by being autonomy supportive, which includes the following: listening closely to students; conveying to students that they understand and value their perspectives; helping students appreciate their growing knowledge and skill within the subject being taught; helping students see how they will likely be able to apply what they learn in their future career or during current everyday life; explaining how he/she developed passion for the subject matter being taught; and highlighting interesting features of the content delivered during each lecture (Froiland, 2014; Froiland, 2015).
In hundreds of studies based upon self-determination theory, autonomy supportive communication promotes intrinsic motivation to learn, rich engagement with learning, and happiness (Froiland, 2015; Froiland, Oros, Smith & Hirchert, 2012). These positive factors, in turn, promote long-term achievement (Froiland, 2014; Froiland & Oros, 2014). Professors can also create an atmosphere for classroom social support by helping students to participate in high quality cooperative learning groups, which includes teaching groups of students how to evaluate and improve their social functioning as a group, rather than focusing solely on their academic functioning (Johnson, Johnson, Roseth & Shin, 2014). Furthermore, cooperative groups are taught that they are more likely to thrive and grow if they all succeed, rather than compete with each other. This is generally effective, as long as a very competitive student does not feel that his or her desire for competition is thwarted throughout the class (Froiland, 2014).
For the most part, this type of social interdependence promotes better motivation to learn, psychological well-being, and higher achievement (Johnson et al., 2014). While both autonomy supportive teaching and cooperative learning are potentially crucial ways to enhance students’ social support, teacher autonomy support is particularly compelling. This is because there is evidence that autonomy supportive teachers inspire students to increase their intrinsic motivation to learn, which then leads to students interacting with other students in such a way that they help others to enjoy learning more. In other words, a love for learning can be contagious and professors can be important models of a love for learning.
Viewpoints
Unfortunately, most professors and college instructors actually have very little training in pedagogy and very few have been trained to be autonomy supportive (vs. controlling). In addition, adjunct instructors and teaching assistants (often graduate assistants working on their doctorate) have even less training in pedagogy or promoting the well-being of college students, if any. This suggests that an important area for university and college development may be teaching professors, adjunct instructors, and teaching assistants how to inspire students by being autonomy supportive.
Furthermore, professors and adjunct instructors could also be taught to practice and model positive psychology techniques for their classrooms. For example, the gratitude journal (recording what one is thankful for and how the positive events developed) could be practiced by both instructors and students, leading to a happier classroom, faculty, and campus (Froiland, Smith & Peterson, 2012). In fact, if a university is serious about enhancing social support and well-being campus wide, administrators and all staff could also participate in basic positive psychology exercises, such as the gratitude journal, setting intrinsic life goals, utilizing autonomy supportive communication, practicing creative acts of kindness, and sharing positive news.
When talking about the value of social support in higher education, it is important to also consider the fact that many students of diverse backgrounds experience stereotyping, discrimination, and even threats, which can heighten anxiety, reduce achievement, and hinder students from receiving social support within their environment (Steele & Aronson, 1995; Worrell, 2014). It is important to create an environment in which all learners feel welcomed and safe. Furthermore, it is important for college instructors to make sure that they are not holding or promoting racial stereotypes. Practicing unconditional positive regard and nonjudgmentalness is important in this regard (Froiland & Hirchert, 2016). Furthermore, helping all students to believe that their current performance is reflective of their effort and strategy, rather than their ability, may also help prevent the activation of stereotype threat.
Terms & Concepts
Authoritative: Stemming from the parenting literature, authoritative (as opposed to authoritarian) parenting describes a style of interacting with children that entails high levels of warmth and sensitivity, accompanied by high levels of structure (e.g., clear expectations for children’s behavior; Baumrind, 1991). Teachers can also interact with students in an authoritative way.
Autonomy Supportive Communication: Autonomy supportive communication involves helping children see the beauty in learning, explaining how they could use what they learn to eventually help others, or pointing to the intriguing aspects of learning (Froiland, 2015).
Behavioral Engagement: Paying attention in class, asking thoughtful questions, and otherwise carrying oneself in a way that indicates rich participation.
Intrinsic Life Goals: Goals that entail a focus on helping others (vs. making money), making the world a better place, personal development (vs. popularity and impressing others), and physical health (vs. looking good). Kasser and Ryan (1996) published seminal research on college students in this area.
Intrinsic Motivation to Learn: Finding learning and studying interesting and enjoyable, or otherwise finding learning to be purposeful and related to psychological needs. For example, a high school student may enjoy learning chemistry because she views it as preparation for becoming a scientist, which will enable her to help people through her research.
Permissive Parenting: A style of parenting in which parents provide few or unclear expectations and little guidance.
Positive Psychology: The science of developing happiness, engagement, and other positive psychological indicators. Positive Psychology is in stark contrast to traditional emphases on diagnosis of disorder and special education placement in the schools. Key positive psychology methods include the gratitude journal, setting intrinsic life goals, sharing positive events with others, practicing mindfulness, speaking in an autonomy supportive way, and engaging with the world through practicing creative acts of kindness.
Self-Determination Theory: Deci and Ryan’s well-supported theory that all people have a need for feeling connected to others, expressing their unique identity, and developing competence in various domains of life (Deci, Vallerland, Pelletier, & Ryan, 1991). When these needs are met, students and teachers are much more likely to enjoy school, be highly engaged with school, and be happy.
Social Support: Psychosocial help from parents, professors, and fellow students that may include attentive listening, warmth, encouragement, sharing positive expectations, and shared participation in activities that promote well-being, such as studying or exercise.
Bibliography
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Whitney, N., & Froiland, J. M. (2015). Parenting style, gender, beer drinking and drinking problems of college students. International Journal of Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach / Tarptautinis Psichologijos Zurnalas: Biopsichosocialinis Poziuris, 16, 93–109. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=108470252&site=ehost-live
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Suggested Reading
Froiland, J. M. (2015). Peer effects. In F. F. Wherry & G. J. Golson (Eds.), Sage Encyclopedia of Economics and Society (pp.1256–1257). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Johnson, D. K. (2007). The state of cooperative learning in postsecondary and professional settings. Educational Psychology Review, 19(1), 15–29. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=24151787&site=ehost-live
North, R. J., Holahan, C. J., Carlson, C. L., & Pahl, S. A. (2014). From failure to flourishing: The roles of acceptance and goal reengagement. Journal of Adult Development, 21(4), 239–250.
Radel, R., Sarrazin, P., Legrain, P., & Wild, T. C. (2010). Social contagion of motivation between teacher and student: Analyzing underlying processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 577. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=60629103&site=ehost-live
Reiss, S. (2000). Why people turn to religion: A motivational analysis. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 39(1), 47–52. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=2912391&site=ehost-live