Sense of relatedness and study engagement as mediators between students’ peer support and life satisfaction

Sanna Ulmanen; Lotta Tikkanen; Kirsi Pyhältö

doi:10.1007/s10212-024-00858-x

Sense of relatedness and study engagement as mediators between students’ peer support and life satisfaction

Sanna Ulmanen^*
, Lotta Tikkanen
, Kirsi Pyhältö

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

49 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Previous research suggests that peer support is an essential component of adolescents’ sense of relatedness in peer relationships and correlates with study engagement and life satisfaction. However, what the underlying mechanisms of these relationships are, has remained unclear. This study examined 1) whether the sense of relatedness or study engagement mediate the effect of peer support on students’ life satisfaction, and 2) whether sense of relatedness mediates the effects of peer support on students’ study engagement. The data were analysed with the structural equation modelling (SEM), using a cross-sectional sample of Finnish upper secondary education students (n = 293) (63% female, 31% male). The results showed that the relationship between peer support and the student life satisfaction beyond the school was fully mediated by students’ experiences of study engagement and sense of relatedness. This suggests that peer support for studying by itself is not sufficient for cultivating student life satisfaction, but its effectiveness depends on whether it positively impacts their study engagement and sense of relatedness. To improve the life satisfaction of upper secondary education students, study-related peer support needs to be cultivated so that it triggers students’ sense of relatedness and study engagement.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2603-2617
Journal	European Journal of Psychology of Education
Volume	39
Early online date	18 Jun 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-024-00858-x
Publication status	Published - 2024
Publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

This research was supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture [grant number 6600567] and the Strategic Research Council (SRC), the Academy of Finland (grant number 1352509). SU was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Finnish Cultural Foundation (grant number 00221069). We thank the participating students and schools for their time. This study was not preregistered. Research permissions from students do not allow sharing of original data and study materials; hence, they are not available. The study analysis code (i.e. Mplus analysis) is available from corresponding author upon reasonable request. We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

Funders	Funder number
Finnish Strategic Research Council
Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö	6600567
Strategic Research Council at the Research Council of Finland	1352509
Suomen Kulttuurirahasto	00221069

Keywords

Life satisfaction
Relatedness
Structural equation modelling
Study engagement
Study-related peer support
Upper-secondary education

Publication forum classification

Publication forum level 1

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education
Developmental and Educational Psychology

Access to Document

10.1007/s10212-024-00858-xLicence: CC BY

s10212-024-00858-x-1Final published version, 1.06 MBLicence: CC BY

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202408017860Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Sense of relatedness and study engagement as mediators between students{\textquoteright} peer support and life satisfaction",

abstract = "Previous research suggests that peer support is an essential component of adolescents{\textquoteright} sense of relatedness in peer relationships and correlates with study engagement and life satisfaction. However, what the underlying mechanisms of these relationships are, has remained unclear. This study examined 1) whether the sense of relatedness or study engagement mediate the effect of peer support on students{\textquoteright} life satisfaction, and 2) whether sense of relatedness mediates the effects of peer support on students{\textquoteright} study engagement. The data were analysed with the structural equation modelling (SEM), using a cross-sectional sample of Finnish upper secondary education students (n = 293) (63\% female, 31\% male). The results showed that the relationship between peer support and the student life satisfaction beyond the school was fully mediated by students{\textquoteright} experiences of study engagement and sense of relatedness. This suggests that peer support for studying by itself is not sufficient for cultivating student life satisfaction, but its effectiveness depends on whether it positively impacts their study engagement and sense of relatedness. To improve the life satisfaction of upper secondary education students, study-related peer support needs to be cultivated so that it triggers students{\textquoteright} sense of relatedness and study engagement.",

keywords = "Life satisfaction, Relatedness, Structural equation modelling, Study engagement, Study-related peer support, Upper-secondary education",

author = "Sanna Ulmanen and Lotta Tikkanen and Kirsi Pyh{\"a}lt{\"o}",

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year = "2024",

doi = "10.1007/s10212-024-00858-x",

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AU - Tikkanen, Lotta

AU - Pyhältö, Kirsi

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Previous research suggests that peer support is an essential component of adolescents’ sense of relatedness in peer relationships and correlates with study engagement and life satisfaction. However, what the underlying mechanisms of these relationships are, has remained unclear. This study examined 1) whether the sense of relatedness or study engagement mediate the effect of peer support on students’ life satisfaction, and 2) whether sense of relatedness mediates the effects of peer support on students’ study engagement. The data were analysed with the structural equation modelling (SEM), using a cross-sectional sample of Finnish upper secondary education students (n = 293) (63% female, 31% male). The results showed that the relationship between peer support and the student life satisfaction beyond the school was fully mediated by students’ experiences of study engagement and sense of relatedness. This suggests that peer support for studying by itself is not sufficient for cultivating student life satisfaction, but its effectiveness depends on whether it positively impacts their study engagement and sense of relatedness. To improve the life satisfaction of upper secondary education students, study-related peer support needs to be cultivated so that it triggers students’ sense of relatedness and study engagement.

AB - Previous research suggests that peer support is an essential component of adolescents’ sense of relatedness in peer relationships and correlates with study engagement and life satisfaction. However, what the underlying mechanisms of these relationships are, has remained unclear. This study examined 1) whether the sense of relatedness or study engagement mediate the effect of peer support on students’ life satisfaction, and 2) whether sense of relatedness mediates the effects of peer support on students’ study engagement. The data were analysed with the structural equation modelling (SEM), using a cross-sectional sample of Finnish upper secondary education students (n = 293) (63% female, 31% male). The results showed that the relationship between peer support and the student life satisfaction beyond the school was fully mediated by students’ experiences of study engagement and sense of relatedness. This suggests that peer support for studying by itself is not sufficient for cultivating student life satisfaction, but its effectiveness depends on whether it positively impacts their study engagement and sense of relatedness. To improve the life satisfaction of upper secondary education students, study-related peer support needs to be cultivated so that it triggers students’ sense of relatedness and study engagement.

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JF - European Journal of Psychology of Education

ER -

Sense of relatedness and study engagement as mediators between students’ peer support and life satisfaction

Abstract

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ASJC Scopus subject areas

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