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Social support has been identified as an important mediator aiding adaptation during major life transitions such as matriculation in college. In the present study two models were proposed to predict social network development from measures of previous social support and individual characteristics collected prior to students' matriculation. It was hypothesized that initiation skills and previous social relationship patterns would predict the quantitative development of the students' new social support networks while negative affectivity and social relationship patterns would predict satisfaction with the forming network.The models were tested using path analysis techniques. Model I was supported. Initiation skills and relationship patterns both had significant direct effects on network size; while initiation skills also had a meaningful indirect effect on size through its effects on relationship patterns. Model II was not supported by the data. Network satisfaction was not meaningfully influenced by negative affect but was affected by initiation skills and by social relationship patterns. Changes in the characteristics of the network over time were also observed and considered. The results clarify the process through which new social networks develop and have implications for college-based intervention programs. / Department of Psychological Science

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 60, [1] p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 38-49).

Thesis (MTech. degree in Marketing)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2011. / Focuses primarily on the decision-making of students in the acquisition and usage of wireless internet products and services in the Tshwane Metropolitan area.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Despite a substantially greater risk factor profile, Hispanics in the United States (US) consistently demonstrate better health outcomes compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts, an epidemiologic phenomenon termed the Hispanic Mortality Paradox. Emerging hypotheses suggest cultural values regarding relational interconnectedness and social support may help to explain these surprising health outcomes. The present study sought to inform these hypotheses via two aims: the first was to examine racial/ethnic differences in perceived social support, and the second was to examine the relationship between acculturation and perceived social support among Hispanic college students. Non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic college students (N = 330) completed an online survey for course credit. Contrary to expectations, no racial/ethnic differences in perceived social support were observed, nor was an association between acculturation and perceived social support evident among the sampled Hispanic students. The limited sample size, homogeneity in social support levels across groups, and the restricted range of age and acculturation may have obscured relationships that may exist outside the college environment. Future work should consider a more heterogeneous sampling strategy to better assess these associations.

This study examined the college student experience from a student perspective. The conceptual framework of Strauss' negotiated order was used to examine the relationship between structure and process in organizational settings. The ways in which students linked their immediate and larger social worlds were examined as an element in the adjustive processes of the organization. The data consisted of time activity reports, unstructured interviews, and a shadowing experience with a small sample of middle-class Mexican-American students at the University of Arizona. Content analysis of the data was conducted across three dimensions of "Making It On Campus"; Making the Grade, Making It With Others, and Making Money. Findings indicated that students perceived their experience from a generalized goal of becoming "On Your Own." Student coping strategies across the three areas of Making It became shared patterns of activities centered around attempts to organize their world, assert some control, and develop independence and autonomy.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Social Work and Social Administration / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

This thesis examined 228 college students' reported use of relational maintenance behaviors and strategies and their reported perception of the degree of relational satisfaction and solidarity with the relational partners they chose to identify. The study gathered extensive data with the intention of primarily investigating the validity and reliability of measurement of relational maintenance behaviors across cultures with some attention to correlations between relationship maintenance behaviors, relationship satisfaction, and interpersonal solidarity. The study focused on refining previous measures of relationship maintenance behaviors in order to develop a comprehensive global measure. The study found that a linear combination of factors or relationship maintenance behaviors are related to relational satisfaction and interpersonal solidarity.