The influence of social support onacademic performance: The mediating role of cognitive engagement

Abstract

Academic performance, which measures a student’s success in learning, is influenced by various factors. One of themost important determinants of academic performance is social support. Parents, teachers, and friends all play a criticalrole in providing the necessary support that affects students’ cognitive engagement. Therefore, this study aimed todetermine the relationship between social support and academic performance, which could be directly or indirectlymediated by cognitive engagement. The subjects used were 228 high school students in 11th grade, aged 15-18. Datawere measured using Academic Performance Rating Scale (APRS), Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASS),and Students Engagement Scale (SES) with Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.84, 0.93, and 0.88, respectively. The mediationanalysis was conducted using the PROCESS model 4 developed by Hayes. The results showed that the relationshipbetween social support and academic performance occurred through the mediation of cognitive engagement (β= 0.16),with no direct correlation (β= 0.12, p = 0.350). Specifically, more excellent social support was associated with increasedcognitive engagement (β= 0.50, p = 0.000), leading to improved academic performance (β= 0.32, p = 0.005). Therefore,it was confirmed that social support is essential to students’ cognitive engagement and academic performance.

Keywords

• academic performance
• social support
• students cognitive engagement