The effect of social support on the well-being of single-mothers enrolled in a rural community college

Graduation date: 1989The primary purpose of this research was to examine the effects of\ud informal social support on the psychological sense of well-being of single-parent\ud mothers who are enrolled in a rural Oregon community college. A\ud secondary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of selected\ud demographic indices upon the mothers' well-being.\ud A 32-item questionnaire was mailed to a randomly selected population\ud of 1,000 female spring term enrollees at Linn-Benton Community College,\ud resulting in an 82 percent rate of response and 781 usable surveys, including\ud 76 (10 percent) from single-mother students. Characteristically 35 to 39\ud years of age, Caucasian, and maintaining her own household on a gross\ud monthly income of $1,000 or less, the single-mother student worked part-time,\ud had been a single-parent for more than two years, raised one child,\ud and was enrolled for six or fewer credits during the spring term.\ud Analyses of variance among demographic indices and well-being measures\ud indicated that single-mother students employed part-time scored lowest\ud on Total Well-Being, Problems and Isolation. There was a significant\ud effect on Problems from those enrolled in a degree program for seven or\ud more credits and receiving financial aid. Simple linear and multiple stepwise\ud regressions between components of Support and Well-Being, showed\ud that: (1) Total Support had an effect upon Problems, Loneliness, Happiness,\ud and Total Well-Being; (2) Personal Conversations influenced or affected\ud all measures of Well-Being; (3) Relatives influenced Isolation, Loneliness,\ud Happiness, and Total Well-Being; (4) Friendship affected Problems,\ud Loneliness, Happiness, and Total Well-Being; and (5) Neighbors influenced\ud Total Well-Being.\ud Stepwise multiple regressions indicated that (1) Total Well-Being was\ud affected by Conversations and to a lesser extent by Relatives and Friends;\ud (2) Problems and Loneliness were influenced by Friends; (3) Isolation was\ud affected by Relatives, and (4) Happiness was influenced by Conversations\ud and to a lesser degree by Relatives.\ud Recommendations for further research and implications for educational\ud and family professionals working with single-mother students are discussed