The Effects of Social Support and Self-Efficacy on Academic Performance

Abstract

The links between self-efficacy, social support, and academic achievement are well supported in the literature. The number of people, and the perceived satisfaction with the support they offer, is positively correlated with academic achievement, as it reduces stress and influences an individual’s choice of coping mechanism. Self-efficacy influences grades by establishing positive behavioural patterns that result in individuals exerting more effort on a given task among other things. And, with increasing emphasis being placed on individual academic achievement, any and all potential aids must be considered in an attempt to attain good marks. The relationship between social support, self-efficacy, and academic achievement is understudied in Australia. It was theorised that individuals with higher levels of these two factors would do better in an end of semester exam. Participants were drawn from the 1st year psychology cohort at Adelaide university and completed measures measuring demographic factors as well as the measures measuring social support, self-efficacy, and control variables. Results from correlational analyses comparing variables and exam marks were all non-significant, except for intelligence. Possible reasons for these results are discussed, as well as future directions for research in this area.