Social Psychology of Education

, Volume 9, Issue 4, pp 461–478 | Cite as

Social support networks, stress, sense of coherence and academic success of university students with learning disabilities

Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The current study evaluated the extent to which 191 university students with learning disabilities (LD) differed from 190 students without disabilities in terms of their perceived social support, stress and sense of coherence. The study also investigated students’ perceptions of their academic success at university as compared with their rating of their struggles and failures. Findings indicated that students with LD perceived themselves as having less social support than did students without LD. Students without LD were more likely than students with LD to attribute their academic success to study skills and to their academic characteristics, while students with LD were more likely to attribute their academic success or lack of success to external factors. Although overall the levels of stress reported by the entire sample were relatively low, students with LD tended to experience slightly higher academic stress than students without LD.

Keywords

support networks learning disabilities academic achievement Israel 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Adams T.B., Bezner J.R., Drabbs M.E., Zambarano R.J., Steinhardt M.A. (2000). Conceptualization and measurement of the spiritual and psychological dimensions of wellness in a college population. Journal of American College Health, 48, 165–173CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. American Council on Education (1995). Getting ready for college: Advising high school with learning disabilities. Washington, DC: HEATH Resource Center.Google Scholar
  3. Antonovsky A. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health. San Francisco, Jossey-BassGoogle Scholar
  4. Antonovsky A. (1993). The structure and properties of the sense of coherence scale. Social Science and Medicine, 36, 725–733CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Barton R.S., Fuhrman B.S. (1994). Counseling and psychotherapy for adults with learning disabilities. In: Gerber P.J., Reiff H.B. (eds) Learning disabilities in adulthood: problems and evolving issues. Austin, TX, PRO-ED, pp. 82–92Google Scholar
  6. Billings A.G., Moos R.H. (1984). Coping, stress, and social resources among adults with unipolar depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 877–891CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Braxton J.M., Milem J.F., Sullivan A.S. (2000). The influence of active learning on the college student departure process. The Journal of Higher Education, 71, 569–590CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Brissette I., Scheier M.F., Carver C.S. (2002). The role of optimism in social network development, coping, and psychology adjustment during a life transition. Journal of and Social Psychology, 82, 102–111Google Scholar
  9. Cosden M.A., McNamara J. (1997). Self-concept and perceived social support among college students with and without learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 20, 2–12CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Dalal A., Sethi A. (1988). An attributional study of high and low need achievers in India. The Journal of Social Psychology, 128(1):55–64CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Demaray M.K., Maleck C.K. (2002). The relationship between perceived social support and maladjustment for students at risk. Psychology in the School, 39:305–316CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Engelberg R.A., Evans E.D. (1986). Perceptions and attitudes about school grading practices among intellectually gifted, learning-disabled, and normal elementary school pupils. Journal of Special Education, 20(1):91–101Google Scholar
  13. Gregg N., Hoy C., King M., Moreland C., Jagota M. (1992). The MMPI-2 of adults with learning disabilities in universities and rehabilitation settings. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25, 386–395Google Scholar
  14. Hammer L.B., Grigsby D.T., Woods S.P. (1998). The conflicting demands of work, family, and school among students at an urban university. The Journal of Psychology, 132(2):220–226CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Harri M. (1998). The sense of coherence among nurse educators in Finland. Nurse Education Today, 18, 202–212CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Heiman T., Kariv D. (2004). Manifestations of learning disabilities in university students: Implications for coping and adjustment. Education, 125(2):313–324Google Scholar
  17. Heiman T., Precel K. (2003). Students with learning disabilities in higher education: strategies profile. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36:248–258Google Scholar
  18. Huebner R.A., Thomas K.R., Berven N.L. (1999). Attachment and interpersonal characteristics of college students with and without disabilities. Rehabilitation Psychology, 44, 85–103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Kaiser C.F., Sattler D.N., Bellack D.R., Dersin J.A. (1996). Conservation of resources approach to a natural disaster: sense of coherence and psychological distress. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 11, 459–476Google Scholar
  20. Langius A., Bjoervell H., Antonovsky A. (1992). The sense of coherence concept and its relation to personality traits in Swedish samples. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 6, 165–171Google Scholar
  21. Lazarus R.S. (1990). Theory-based stress measurement. Psychological Inquiry, 1, 3–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Margalit M., Efrati M. (1996). Loneliness, coherence, and companionship among with learning disorders. Educational Psychology, 16, 69–79CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Margalit, M., Breznitz, Z., & Aharoni, M. (1998). Students with learning disabilities in the higher education institutes. Jerusalem: Council for Higher Education (Hebrew).Google Scholar
  24. Margalit M., Tur-Kaspa H., Most T. (1999). Reciprocal nominations, reciprocal rejections and loneliness among students with learning disorders. Educational Psychology, 19, 79–90CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Michaels J.W., Miethe T.D. (1989). Academic effort and college grades. Social Forces, 68, 309–320CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Milleret Ring M., Reetz L. (2000). Modification effects on attributions of middle school students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 15(1):34–42CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Ministry of Education of Israel (1988). The special education law (in English: http://kinneret.co.il/benzev/yacovGoogle Scholar
  28. Murray C. (2003). Risk factors, protective factors, vulnerability and resilience. Remedial & Special Education, 24, 16–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. National Center for Education Statistics (2000). Postsecondary students with disabilities: Enrollment, services, and persistence. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.govGoogle Scholar
  30. National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, NJCLD (1998). Learning disabilities: Pre-service preparation of general and special education teachers. Learning Disability Quarterly, 21, 182–186.Google Scholar
  31. Nelson-Le Gall S. (1992). Children’s instrumental help-seeking: Its role in the social acquisition and construction of knowledge. In: Hertz-Lazarowitz R., Miller N. (eds) Interaction in cooperative groups: The theoretical anatomy of group learning. England, Cambridge University Press, pp. 49–68Google Scholar
  32. Newman R.S. (1994). Adaptive help seeking: A strategy of self-regulated learning. In: Schunk D.H., Zimmerman B.J. (eds) Self-regulation of learning and performance: Issues and applications. Hillsdale, NJ, Erlbaum, pp. 283–301Google Scholar
  33. Palladino P., Poli P., Masi G., Marcheschi M. (2000). The relation between metacognition and depressive symptoms in preadolescents with learning disabilities: Data in support of Borkowski’s model. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 15(3):142–148CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Parker V. (1999). Personal assistance for students with disabilities in HE: The experience of the University of East London. Disability & Society, 14:483–504CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Pavri S., Monda-Amaya L. (2000). Loneliness and students with learning disabilities in inclusive classrooms: self perceptions, coping strategies, and preferred interventions. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 15, 22–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Reiff H.B., Hatzes N.M., Bramel M.H., Gibbon T. (2001). The relation of LD and gender with emotional intelligence in college students. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34, 66–78Google Scholar
  37. Reis S.M., McGuire J.M., Neu T.W. (2000). Compensation strategies used by high ability students with learning disabilities. Gifted Child Quarterly, 44, 123–134CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Repetti R.L. (1993). The effects of workload and the social environment at work on health. In: Goldberger L., Breznitz S. (eds) Handbook of stress: Theoretical and clinical aspects (Ch. 20). New York, The Free PressGoogle Scholar
  39. Sachs J. (2001). A path model for adult learner feedback. Educational Psychology, 21, 267–275CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Sanders K.S., DuBois D.L. (1996). Individual and socio-environmental predictors of adjustment to college among students with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 12, 28–43Google Scholar
  41. Sarason I.G., Sarason B.R. (1985). Social support: Theory, research, application. Netherlands, Martinus NijhoffGoogle Scholar
  42. Shute V., Towle B. (2003). Adaptive e-learning. Educational Psychologist, 38(2):105–114CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Solberg V.S., Villarreal P. (1997). Examination of self-efficacy, social support, and stress as predictors of psychological and physical distress among Hispanic college students. Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 19, 182–194CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Tao T., Dong Q., Pratt M., Hunsberger B., Pancer S.M. (2000). Social support: Relations to coping and adjustment during the transition to university in the people’s of Republic of China. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15, 123–144CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. U.S. Department of Education Annual Report (2000). Twenty-first annual report to Congress on the implementation of Public Law 101–476: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC.Google Scholar
  46. Vogel S. (1998). The national learning disabilities postsecondary data bank: An overview. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31, 234–247CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Wechsler D. (1991). WAIS-R manual: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Revised. San Antonio,TX, Psychological CorporationGoogle Scholar
  48. Weiner B. (1986). An attributional theory of motivation and emotion. New York,Springer-VerlagGoogle Scholar
  49. Wilcox V.L., Kasl S.V., Berkman L.F. (1994). Social support and physical disability in older people after hospitalization: A prospective study. Health Psychology, 13:170–179CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Winter M.G., Ben-Knaz R. (2000). It’s not academic, you’re in the army now: Adjustment to the army as a comparative context for adjustment to university. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15, 145–172CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Winter M.G., Sugar L.A. (2000). Relationships with parents, personality, and the university transition. Journal of College Student Development, 41, 202–214Google Scholar
  52. Winter M.G., Yaffe M. (2000). First-year students’ adjustment to university life as a functioning of relationships with parents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15, 9–37CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Zimet G.D., Dahlem M.W., Zimet S.G., Parley G.K. (1988). The multidimensional scale for perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52, 30–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer 2006

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Education and PsychologyThe Open UniversityRaananaIsrael

Personalised recommendations