Peers' perceived support,student engagement in academic activities and life satisfaction: A structural equation modeling approach

Abstract

This study investigates the relationships among peers' perceived support, life satisfaction, and student engagement in academic activities. Three hundred and fifteen Iranian students (172 boys and 143 girls) who were studying in one suburb of Tehran participated in this study. All participants were asked to complete Peers' Perceived Support scale (PPSS), Student Engagement in Academic Activities scale (SEAAS), and Brief Multi-dimensional Students Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). Structural equation modeling was used to analyse the data. According to the results, there are significant positive correlations between components of peers' perceived support, student engagement in academic activities, and life satisfaction in pairs. In two examined models, the direct and indirect effects of peers' perceived support on student engagement in academic activities and life satisfaction were significantly positive. In addition, life satisfaction and student engagement in academic activities had a mediating role and bi-directional effect in the surveyed models. In sum, the results of this research endorse not only the importance of peers' perceived support in enhancing student engagement in academic activities and life satisfaction but also the cross-effect of student engagement in academic activities and life satisfaction variables on each other.

Keywords

life satisfaction peer support structural equation modeling students engagement

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Atweh, B., Bland, D. C., Carrington, S. B., & Cavanagh, R. (2008). School disengagement: Its constructions, investigation and management. In P. Jeffrey (Ed.), AARE International Education Research Conference, 25–29 November 2007, Fremantle, WA.

Bakker

A. B.

Vergel

A. I. S.

Kuntze

(2015) Student engagement and performance: A weekly diary study on the role of openness. Motivation and Emotion 39(1): 49–62. doi: 10.1007/s11031-014-9422-5.

Berndt

T. J.

(1999) Friends' influence on students' adjustment to school. Educational Psychologist 34(1): 15–28. doi: 10.1207/s15326985ep3401_2.

Chen

J. J. L.

(2005) Relation of academic support from parents, teachers, and peers to Hong Kong adolescent's academic achievement: The mediating role of academic engagement. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 131(2): 77–127. doi: 10.3200/MONO.131.2.77-127.

Christenson

S. L.

Reschly

A. L.

Appleton

J. J.

Berman

Spangers

Varro

(2008) Best practices in fostering student engagement. In: Thomas

Grimes

(eds) Best practices in school psychology V, Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists, pp. 1099–1120.

Connell

J. P.

Wellborn

J. G.

(1991) Competence, autonomy, and relatedness: A motivational analysis of self-system processes. In: Gunnar

M. R.

Sroufe

L. A.

(eds) Self-process in development: Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology Vol 2, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 167–216.

Csikszentmihalyi

(1990) Flow the psychology of optimal experience, New York, NY: Harper and Row.

Deci

E. L.

Ryan

R. M.

(2000) The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry 11: 227–268. doi: 10.1207/S1 532 7965 PL I1104_01.

Diener

(2000) Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist 55(1): 34–43.

10.

Diener

(2009) Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Culture and well-being, The Netherlands: Springer, pp. 71–91. doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-2352-0.

11.

Diseth

Å.

Danielsen

A. G.

Samdal

(2012) A path analysis of basic need support, self-efficacy, achievement goals, life satisfaction and academic achievement level among secondary school students. Educational Psychology 32(3): 335–354. doi: 10.1080/01443410.2012.657159.

12.

Fredricks

J. A.

Blumenfeld

P. C.

Paris

A. H.

(2004) School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research 74(1): 59–109. doi: 10.3102/00346543074001059.

13.

Frisch

M. B.

Clark

M. P.

Rouse

S. V.

Rudd

M. D.

Paweleck

J. K.

Greenstone

Kopplin

D. A.

(2005) Predictive and treatment validity of life satisfaction and the quality of life inventory. Assessment 12(1): 66–78. doi: 10.1177/1073191104268006.

14.

Fuligni

A. J.

(1997) The academic achievement of adolescents from immigrant families: The role of family background, attitudes, and behavior. Child Development 68(2): 351–363. doi: 10.1111/j .14 67-8624.1997.tb01944.x.

15.

Furlong

M. J.

Christenson

S. L.

(2008) Engaging students at school and with learning: A relevant construct for all students. Psychology in the Schools 45(5): 365–368. doi: 10.1002/pits.20302.

16.

Gilman

Huebner

(2003) A review of life satisfaction research with children and adolescents. School Psychology Quarterly 18(2): 192–205.

17.

Gliner

J. A.

Morgan

G. A.

(2000) Research methods in applied settings: An integrated approach to design and analysis, Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates.

18.

Hakimzadeh

Besharat

M. A.

Khaleghinezahd

S. A.

(2013) Development and validation of a student Engagement in Academic Activities Scale. Applied Psychological Research Quarterly 4(4): 1–16. [in Persian].

19.

Helsen

Vollebergh

Meeus

(2000) Social support from parents and friends and emotional problems in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 29(3): 319–335.

20.

L. T.

Bentler

P. M.

(1999) Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal 6(1): 1–55. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118.

21.

Huebner

E. S.

Antaramian

S. P.

Hills

K. J.

Lewis

A. D.

Saha

(2011) Stability and predictive validity of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale. Child Indicators Research 4(1): 161–168. doi: 10.1007/s12187-010-9082-2.

22.

Jimerson

S. R.

Campos

Greif

J. L.

(2003) Toward an understanding of definitions and measures of school engagement and related terms. The California School Psychologist 8(1): 7–27.

23.

Kef

Deković

(2004) The role of parental and peer support in adolescent's well-being: A comparison of adolescents with and without a visual impairment. Journal of Adolescence 27(4): 453–466. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.12.005.

24.

Keresztes

Piko

B. F.

Pluhar

Z. F.

Page

R. M.

(2008) Social influences in sports activity among adolescents. The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 128(1): 21–25. doi: 10.1177/1466424007085228.

25.

Khaleghinezhad

S. A.

Amraei

(2013) Constructing and validating of a Peers' Perceived Support Scale (PPSS). Psychometric Journal 2(5): 45–56. [in Persian].

26.

Kline

R. B.

(1998) Principles and practices of Structural equation modeling, New York, NY: Guilford Press.

27.

Kong

Zhao

You

(2012) Emotional intelligence and life satisfaction in Chinese university students: The mediating role of self-esteem and social support. Personality and Individual Differences 53(8): 1039–1043. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.07.032.

28.

Lewis

A. D.

Huebner

E. S.

Malone

P. S.

Valois

R. F.

(2011) Life satisfaction and student engagement in adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 40(3): 249–262. doi: 10.1007/ s10964-010-9517-6.

29.

Malecki

C. K.

Demaray

M. K.

(2003) What type of support do they need? Investigating student adjustment as related to emotional, informational, appraisal, and instrumental support. School Psychology Quarterly 18(3): 231–252.

30.

Meeus

(1994) Psychosocial problems and social support in adolescence. In: Nestmann

Hurrelmann

(eds) Social networks and social support in childhood and adolescence, Berlin: de Gruyter, pp. 241–255.

31.

Nakamura

Csikszentmihalyi

(2002) The concept of flow. In: Snyder

C. R.

Lopez

S. J.

(eds) Handbook of positive psychology, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 89–105.

32.

Nikogoftar

(2015) Gender differences in social health: The role of individualism and pluralism. Social Welfare Quarterly 53: 111–129. [in Persian].

33.

Park

Huebner

E. S.

(2005) A cross-cultural study of the levels and correlates of life satisfaction among adolescents. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 36(4): 444–456. doi: 10.1177/0022022105275961.

34.

Pavot

Diener

Colvin

C. R.

Sandvik

(1991) Further validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale: Evidence for the cross-method convergence of well-being measures. Journal of Personality Assessment 57(1): 149–161. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa5701_17.

35.

Rigby

(2000) Effects of peer victimization in schools and perceived social support on adolescent well-being. Journal of Adolescence 23: 57–68. doi: 10.1006/jado.1999.0289.

36.

Salthouse

T. A.

(2011) All data collection and analysis methods have limitations: Reply to Rabbitt (2011) and Raz and Lindenberger (2011). Psychological Bulletin 137: 796–799.

37.

Samaras

A. P.

Gismondi

(1998) Scaffolds in the field: Vygotskian interpretation in a teacher education program. Teaching and Teacher Education 14(7): 715–733.

38.

Seligson

J. L.

Huebner

E. S.

Valois

R. F.

(2003) Preliminary validation of the brief multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale (BMSLSS). Social Indicators Research 61(2): 121–145.

39.

Shahyad

Besharat

M. A.

Asadi

Alipour

A. S.

Miri

(2011) The relation of attachment and perceived social support with Life Satisfaction: Structural equation model. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 15: 952–956. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.03.219.

40.

Shernoff

Schmidt

(2008) Further evidence of an engagement/achievement paradox among US high school students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 37: 564–580. doi: 10.1007/s10964-00 7-9241-z.

41.

Shochet

I. M.

Dadds

M. R.

Ham

Montague

(2006) School connectedness is an underemphasized parameter in adolescent mental health: Results of a community prediction study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 35(2): 170–179. doi: 10.1207/s153 74424jccp3502_1.

42.

Simons-Morton

Chen

(2009) Peer and parent influences on school engagement among early adolescents. Youth and Society 41(1): 3–25. doi: 10.1177/0044118X09334861.

43.

Siyez

D. M.

Kaya

(2007) Validity and reliability of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale with Turkish children. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 26(2): 139–147. doi:10.1177/0734282907307802.

44.

Skinner

E. A.

Belmont

M. J.

(1993) Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology 85(4): 571–581.

45.

Skinner

E. A.

Wellborn

J. G.

Connell

J. P.

(1990) What it takes to do well in school and whether I've got it: A process model of perceived control and children's engagement and achievement in school. Journal of Educational Psychology 82(1): 22–32.

46.

Suh

Diener

Oishi

Triandis

H. C.

(1998) The shifting basis of life satisfaction judgments across cultures: Emotions versus norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74: 482–493.

47.

Suldo

S. M.

Riley

K. N.

Shaffer

E. J.

(2006) Academic correlates of children and Adolescents' Life Satisfaction. School Psychology International 27(5): 567–582. doi: 10.1177/0143034306073411.

48.

Tian

Zhang

Huebner

E. S.

(2014) Preliminary validation of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) among Chinese elementary school students. Child Indicators Research. 1–17. doi: 10.1007/s12187-014-9295-x.

49.

Verkuyten

Thijs

(2002) School satisfaction of elementary school children: The role of performance, peer relations, ethnicity and gender. Social Indicators Research 59(2): 203–228.

50.

Vygotsky

L. S.

(1978) Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

51.

Wentzel

K. R.

(1998) Social relationships and motivation in middle school: The role of parents, teachers, and peers. Journal of Educational Psychology 90(2): 202–209.

52.

Willms

J. D.

(2003) Student engagement at school: A sense of belonging and participation. Results from PISA 2000, Paris: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).