Essay: Social Support and its Benefits for Undergraduate Students Mental Health



Social support refers to the emotional/physical sustenance an individual receives from those in their social network. Research shows that having social ties and access to social support is positively related to mental health (Umberson and Montez, 2010; Seeman, 1996; Berkman and Syme, 1979), indicating that individuals facing adversity can benefit from having a wide social network. This is particularly important for undergraduate students, as adversity can arise in the form of stress as a consequence of changes in the environment and learning patterns (Spangler et al., as cited in Masten, Tusak, Zalar & Ziheri, 2009). An example of such changes can be the shift from college to university, as students may experience stress due to new educational patterns. Stress can be considered a mismatch between the perceived demands of the environment, and an individual’s ability to cope with stressors (Cox, as cited in Mark and Smith 2008). It is important to consider that support comes in two forms: emotional sustenance and active coping assistance (Thoits, 2011), both of which can be provided to undergraduate students by two categories of supporters – primary or secondary. Quintessentially, the effectiveness of support types depends on the source of support, as well as on the interaction between mechanisms of social relationships and support. Examples of these mechanisms include: perceived social support, belonging and companionship, as well as self-esteem (ibid). These mechanisms along with the positive – and negative – influence of social support on undergraduate students’ ability to cope with stress, will be critically evaluated throughout this essay.

Undergraduate students can encounter various stressors during their transition from college to university, whether it be expanding their social network or assignment deadlines. Thoits (2011) suggests that emotional support can be more effective when received from significant others – who one forms strong ties with (Sullivan, as cited in Thoits 2011) – rather than similar others, who one forms weak ties with. Arguably, emotional sustenance has a greater impact when received from significant others due to the presence of strong social ties, which can lead to a sense of belonging and mattering, due to receiving love and concern from close peers (Thoits, 2011). This indicates that having many strong ties can help undergraduate students alleviate stress, as it can cause displays of resilience in stressful situations due to a reduction in psychological distress and a boost in self-esteem. This boost is caused by a confirmation of belonging and reinforcement of acceptance within a network (Cobb, 2011).  Nonetheless, it can be argued that similar others – peers who have faced a comparable situation – can also provide emotional support, although to a much more limited degree due to having a weaker and distant relationship with the individual. If a student faces stress because of academic reasons, similar others may offer better support than significant others. For example, if the source of stress is an assignment deadline, a student is more likely to benefit from the emotive reassurance of his peers, due to sharing an empathic understanding with each other, whereas a significant other – such as a family member – may only be able to offer a limited understanding of the situation. Regardless, it is important to understand that significant others can also include close friends within one’s social network, who are likely to be of the same age and be experiencing similar things. Thus, a student’s received emotional support from significant others can be considered a much more positive influence than that of similar others.   

Alongside emotional support, Thoits (2011) proposes that both significant and similar others can provide active coping assistance, which involves members of one’s social network providing instrumental or informational support. For example, if a student is under financial strain, a significant other would provide active coping assistance by loaning the student money – this is considered an instrumental form of coping assistance. On the other hand, a similar other would provide active coping assistance by giving their peers finance advice and coping encouragement. This form of social support can make students feel valued by those in their social network (Cohen and McKay, 1984), increasing their self-esteem, and therefore their ability to successfully cope with the stressor at hand – in this given example, financial strain. Thus, it can be argued that having a larger social network – and therefore a greater number of relationships – can cause individuals to experience less distress (Cohen and Wills, 1985); this, therefore, shows that social support can be a positive influence on undergraduate students’ ability to cope with stress. Nonetheless, Bolger and Amarel (2007) suggest that although received support can be beneficial to mental health, perceived social support can have a greater positive impact on both mental and physical health. Whilst received support refers to instrumental/informational support received during a stressful event, perceived support refers to the generalisation of support received in many instances from members in one’s network (Hobfoll, 2009).  Receiving any of these forms of social support can make an individual feel a sense of belonging and companionship, which in turn can enhance psychological well-being and one’s ability to cope with adversity. Consequently, social support is a positive influence on students’ ability to cope with stress.

However, despite the positive effect of social support received from members of our social network, one must consider, that relationships can also be the sources of stress (Rook 1984). For example, a student can be faced with stress due to peer pressures in their social network; such pressures can be in regard to behaviour, music and other areas of life. This can cause distress or eustress, depending on the nature of the pressures exerted on the individual (Thoits, 2011). Although social ties to other students can cause eustress through appreciation and praise, any distress caused by primary/secondary group members can, in fact, negate the positive effects of social support (ibid). For instance, if students face scrutiny from others in their social groups on how they dress/behave, they are likely to be faced with distress; this could then perhaps lead to increased social comparison, and therefore cause psychological damage to an individual (ibid). Rook’s (1984) study has shown that negative social interactions can have a greater impact on an individual rather than positive interactions, suggesting that social support may be damaging to one’s wellbeing. Hence, it is clear that although social support can have a positive influence on undergraduate students’ ability to cope with stress, it can also have a detrimental effect due to possible negative outcomes and stressors that can be caused by relationships.

Moreover, although social support can be critical in aiding students to cope with stress, research has shown that there is a positive correlation between optimism and adjustment to a new situation (Stanton & Snider, as cited in Brissette, Scheier & Carver, 2002). Hence, it can be argued that an individual’s personality traits can also impact the way one copes with stress. This indicates that although social support may be present, an individual’s appraisal of a stressor can be pivotal in the way they cope. According to Brissette et al. (2002), optimism may be crucial in receiving support. For example, during the transition from college to university, students need to expand their social networks by socialisation. This requires a degree of optimism that acceptance will be granted by peers, which can ultimately lead to a successful increase in the social ties formed. Research demonstrates that greater optimism correlated with smaller increases in stress than pessimism (Brissette et al. 2002), therefore indicating that an individual requires optimism to aid with coping. Therefore, one may argue that an individual’s personality can influence the extent to which social support can be deemed as a positive influence on one’s ability to cope with stress.

Irrespectively, one may argue that without a wide social network, an individual would not be able to cope with stress as well as someone with large access to social support. Although some relationships can be the source of stress, individuals are likely to seek emotional/informational support from other members of their social network. Ertel et al (2009) suggest that many, high-quality social connections are related to lower levels of distress and illness. Since undergraduate students can experience a series of lifestyle and behavioural changes (Thoits, 2011), such as lack of sleep, social ties are required in order to alleviate the source of stress causing such changes, as well help with coping. These behavioural transformations are usually observed by significant others such as family and friends, who can – if the change has a negative effect– provide active coping assistance in the form of instrumental and informational support (ibid). Additionally, commitments to both significant and similar others can encourage individuals to avoid risky behaviours and engage in self-care (Hughes and Gove, as cited in ibid) through an implicit exertion of pressures. Therefore, although research such as Rook (1984) provides empirical evidence for the negative outcomes of social support, the results of the study cannot be applied to the current population, due to changes in social norms. It is evident that support can be an essential component of students’ lives, as it is a significantly positive influence on one’s wellbeing and ability to cope with stress. This is supported by Masten et al. (2009), where a sample of 237 Slovene undergraduate students was used to assess differences in coping with stress in three different student groups. It was found that psychology and medical students required high levels of emotive support, suggesting that undergraduates rely on social support to deal with stressors encountered during their first year. Hence, while the results of this study remain limited to one population, they are a clear indication that social support is a positive influence on undergraduate students’ ability to cope with stress, as emotional help is sought for reassurance.