Perceived Social Support and Mental Health among First-Year College Students

Abstract

  • The study explores the relationship between perceived social support and mental health among first-year college students with histories of bullying victimization.

  • Despite some previously bullied youths developing depression and anxiety, many do not, indicating the potential existence of protective factors.

  • Identifying these protective factors is crucial for designing interventions to facilitate successful adjustment to adulthood.

  • Data collected from 1474 students at four universities in the U.S. reveals that:

    • History of childhood bullying is positively correlated with depression and anxiety.

    • Family support specifically serves as a buffer against anxiety for previously bullied students during their transition to college.

Keywords

  • Bullying

  • College adjustment

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Perceived social support

Introduction

  • Definition of Bullying: Repeated aggression aimed at a peer unable to defend themselves (Gladden et al. 2013). Types of bullying include:

    • Teasing

    • Rumor spreading

    • Intentional ignoring

    • Threats (Felix et al. 2011)

  • Prevalence Rates:

    • Approximately 35% for school-based bullying and 15% for cyberbullying (Modecki et al. 2014).

  • Consequences of Bullying:

    • Increased levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidality (Cook et al. 2010; Gren-Landell et al. 2011).

    • Risk for poor mental health persists into adulthood (McCabe et al. 2010).

  • First-year college adjustments cause heightened stress, making previously bullied students more vulnerable to mental health issues, which in turn may hinder their academic performance (Gall et al. 2000; Pritchard et al. 2007).

  • Nearly two-thirds of bullied students do not meet criteria for depression or anxiety, indicating potential protective factors worth investigating.

Theoretical Framework

  • Perceived Social Support: The belief that one has friends and family for support has been linked to psychological health among various age groups (Chu et al. 2010) and may be particularly crucial for bullied students who often face social isolation (Newman et al., 2005).

  • Stress Buffering Theory: Suggests that social support helps individuals cope with stress, improving mental health outcomes (Cohen and Wills 1985).

    • Extends Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) stress and coping theory, focusing on external resources.

  • Main Effect Theory: Proposes that high levels of social support equate to better mental health, independent of stress levels (Cohen and Wills 1985).

    • Evidence for main effect theory found in various studies (Brewin et al. 2000).

Research Goals

  1. Investigate the moderating role of perceived social support on the mental health of bullied students.

  2. Hypotheses:

    • Hypothesis 1: Higher perceived social support leads to better mental health outcomes for previously bullied students, supporting the stress-buffering hypothesis.

    • Hypothesis 2: Greater perceived social support enhances mental health regardless of a bullying history, supporting the main effect hypothesis.

Method

Participants

  • Sample Size: 6,988 first-year students from four large U.S. universities, resulting in a final sample of 1,474 (65.2% female) during the fall survey.

  • Follow-Up: 436 (29.5%) completed a follow-up survey in spring.

  • Demographics:

    • 50.4% White/Caucasian, 25.8% Asian, 15.7% Hispanic, 3.7% Black/African American, 4.4% other.

Procedure

  • Recruitment via email to students across multiple channels within the universities.

Measures

  • California Bully-Victimization Scale: Assessed childhood bullying with a focus on:

    • Intentionality

    • Repetition

    • Power imbalance

    • Included forms of victimization like teasing and social exclusion.

  • Depression Measurement: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) used to quantify depression severity.

  • Anxiety Measurement: Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) assessed anxiety symptoms.

  • Perceived Social Support Measurement: Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) measured perceptions of family, friend, and significant other support.

Analysis

  • Conducted linear regression adjusting for gender, race/ethnicity, and college attended, examining:

    • Differences between bullied and non-bullied responses on social support, depression, and anxiety.

    • Moderating effects of social support on the relationship between bullying victimization and mental health outcomes.

Results

Rates of Bullying Victimization and Social Support

  • 29.4% identified as previously bullied in the fall.

  • Previously bullied students ( compared to non-bullied) reported significantly lower perceived social support across multiple categories.

Association Between Childhood Bullying Victimization and Mental Health

  • Previously bullied students reported significantly higher depression and anxiety levels in both fall and spring semesters compared to non-bullied peers.

Interaction Between Childhood Bullying Victimization and Perceived Social Support

  • Findings:

    • Total perceived social support negatively associated with depression, but no stress-buffering effect seen.

    • Family support showed a significant stress-buffering effect for anxiety in the spring, contrary to findings around peer support, which had only a main effect.

Discussion

  • Supported earlier findings of higher anxiety and depression in bullied students.

  • Detected main effects of perceived social support on diminished mental health issues across various contexts, especially emphasizing familial support as crucial.

  • Calls attention to the need for enhanced mental health support tailored for previously bullied students in higher education institutions to mitigate anxiety levels during adjustment periods.