Beyond the classroom: a comparative examination of parental and peer support on students’ socialization

ABSTRACT

The first year of college is challenging for students as they learn to navigate new surroundings away from their established social support systems. This study examined the adjustment of first-year students through the lens of socialization resources theory (SRT). According to SRT, adaption to novel environments is partly due to social support. Although researchers have examined the importance of parental and peer support for students independently, comparative understanding of these two sources of support is limited. Within the framework of SRT, we collected data from 237 first-semester students to assess the effects of parental and peer support on students’ adjustment to college (i.e., intention to persist, stress, social adjustment, institutional attachment, grade point average). Our findings highlight the benefits and limitations of specific sources of support for students’ socialization, such as lower stress levels attributed to parental financial support and increased institutional attachment resulting from peer motivational support.

KEYWORDS:

• Socialization
• parental support
• peer support
• social support
• adjustment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rebecca N. Pool

Rebecca Pool is a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at Clemson University. Her research focuses on media psychology and quantitative analyses.

Agassy B. Rodriguez

Agassy Rodriguez is a graduate student in the Department of Communication at Clemson University. His research focuses on crisis and digital communications, public relations, and higher education.

Gregory A. Cranmer

Gregory A. Cranmer is an Associate Professor of Sport Communication in the Department of Communication at Clemson University. His research focuses on athletic coaching, public discourse about organization processes, and concussion management.

Patrick J. Rosopa

Patrick J. Rosopa is a Full Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Clemson University. His research focuses on quantitative analyses and topics germane to organizational psychology.

Zachory J. Muñiz

Zachory Muñiz is a graduate student in the Department of Communication at Clemson University. His research focuses on student development, and media studies and technology.

David O. Schaedel

David Schaedel is a graduate student in the Department of Communication at Clemson University. His research focuses on group communication, and digitally mediated communication and relationship building.