The role of social support in life satisfaction of students: Examining the mediating role of school satisfaction, academic competency and self-efficacy

This study aimed to investigate the role of social support in life satisfaction of students and the mediating effects of school satisfaction, academic competency, and general self-efficacy. The population of the study were all secondary school students (N= 7167) in District 2 of Urmia, from whom 365 students were selected through convenience sampling based on Morgan table. In this descriptive-correlational study, the data were collected using standard questionnaires of social support by Vaux et al., satisfaction (life satisfaction and school satisfaction by Gilman et al.), academic competency by Harter, Straathof, and Treffers, and finally general self-efficacy by Sherer and Maddux. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the relations among measured and latent variables in the conceptual model. The results showed that there are significant positive relationships between social competency, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction with social support. Also, there are significant positive relationships between competency, self-efficacy, and school satisfaction with life satisfaction. Moreover, social support can predict life satisfaction of students through mediating role of school satisfaction, academic competency, and general self-efficacy. Based on the findings, we conclude that any increase in the social support of schools leads to an increase in students’ school satisfaction, academic competency, and general self-efficacy.