Social support, gender and knowledge area over self-perceived academic performance in Chilean university students

Abstract

The objective of this research was to analyze the differences among perceived social support, gender, and knowledge area on self-perceived academic performance. There were 1931 first and second year Chilean university students (55.04% women) that were surveyed in this study using a socio-demographic questionnaire and the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire. Their ages ranged between 17 and 25 years old. Data was analyzed by applying an inter-subjects factorial ANOVA test. Knowledge area and social support over academic performance showed a statistically significant interaction effect. Families predominated as a source of social support. There was a difference between genders in the variables studied. Academic performance perception for women and men was lower among engineering students. In conclusion, academic performance presents differences with regard to perceived social support, gender, and knowledge area.