The Network Relationships Between Online Social Support, Psychological Resilience, and Academic Self-Efficacy in College Students

Abstract

Two crucial factors closely related to academic success are academic self-efficacy and psychological resilience. With the development of Internet, more interactions have emerged between online social relations and one’s beliefs and behavior. In this study, we explored the network structure between the specific facets of online social support, psychological resilience and academic self-efficacy based on a sample of 328 college students. Indicators of node centrality, along with the network’s accuracy and stability were examined. The results revealed that each of the three constructs had a facet with only within-construct edges. The nodes of “strength” and “tenacity” had the first and second largest expected influences, indicating that they had more or stronger links with other nodes within the network. Moreover, “academic ability self-efficacy” and “tenacity” were identified as bridge nodes, which maintained strong connections with other nodes and linked the variables under study into a connected network. These findings illustrate pathways, central components and bridge components between online social support, psychological resilience and academic self-efficacy, which inspire facet-based interventions to enhance psychological resilience or/and academic self-efficacy.