Social support and achievement in childhood and early adolescene: A multicultural study

Abstract

Supportive relationships are known to contribute to personal functioning in adult life, but much less is known about the effects of social support in childhood and adolescence. In research with adults, support has been found to affect personal outcomes both directly and indirectly, either by interacting with stress or by enhancing self-appraisal. The relation between support and school achievement was explored in this study of students at three grade levels (1–2, 4–5, 8–9) from a multiethnic public school population. Personal interviews were conducted with 333 African-American, Anglo/European-American, and Hispanic-American students. Measures of social support, life stress, loneliness, and academic self-concept were included. Achievement indices were grades, Stanford Achievement Test scores, and teacher ratings. Support was related to achievement both directly and indirectly through self-appraisal, but specific effects varied by grade level. Support effects strengthened and stress effects declined in significance at adolescence, suggesting increased ability to utilize support resources in coping with stress.