Relationship of Peer and Parental Support on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress

Abstract:

Social support is defined as an individual’s belief that they are cared for, loved, esteemed, and valued, as well as believed to be a member of a network of common and mutual obligation (El-Bassel et al., 2001). Peer and parental support are often categorized under the umbrella term of social support, which is why they may be overlooked as separate variables. Prior research has observed social support; however, it has not analyzed the specific qualities of peer and parental support. The intention of this study is to further analyze how peer and parental support can positively affect students’ academic stress and motivation. The chief objective is to analyze the correlation, if any, between undergraduate students’ peer and parental support systems on their academic stress and motivation levels based on depression, anxiety, and stress. Participants (N = 66) were obtained from within the SONA Pool and Penn State Behrend student body to answer a questionnaire on Qualtrics online. This study found that if students have higher parental support, then their depression, stress, and anxiety will be lower, but their academic motivation will be higher. These findings can help increase undergraduate students’ motivation and decrease academic stress to ensure higher attainment of college success in the first year and following. An oral presentation will be given on this research at Penn State Behrend’s Sigma Xi Research Conference on April 22nd, 2023.

Keywords: undergraduate college students, peer support, parental support, self-efficacy, academic stress, and motivation