Resilience Profiles Associated with Social Support and Engagement for Overcoming Academic Obstacles in Undergraduate Education

Abstract

The main objective of this work was to explore the configuration of those elements that allow students to better adapt to university environments and persist even in the presence of difficulties. The sample consisted of 371 undergraduate students (60% female), of low socioeconomic level, enrolled in public universities in the Caribbean region of Colombia. The methodological approach was based on a cluster analysis, in which, using the hierarchical agglomerative method, groups were extracted according to their similar characteristics of resilience in 12 dimensions assessed by the SV-RES scale and subsequent analyses of variance reported how each style was associated with engagement, and with a particular constitution of personal support networks, assessed respectively with the UWES-S scale, and from a square matrix of reticular data on the social networks of each participant. The results showed four profiles of students, characterized by: a) low resilience, high engagement, and strong support networks; b) resilience with low engagement, and dispersed support networks; c) resilience with high autonomy, intermediate levels of engagement, and weak support networks; and d) resilience, high engagement, and strong social support networks.

Perfiles de resiliencia asociados al engagement académico y al apoyo social en estudiantes universitarios

“…The results point out the fact that the greatest proportion of students who start college show profiles of low resilience, however, high levels of motivation for studies and social resources such as peer support networks are the conditions that mostly allow for coping with adversity in the first years of college. These results could point to cultural aspects specific to the Caribbean region, where social networks are of great importance for daily functioning (Marenco-Escuderos et al, 2021). Regarding the association among the studied variables, it is important to note that only the last profile gathered all elements of high resilience, high engagement, and strong support networks that allow for confirming the association among these constructs.…”

“…Al mismo tiempo, a nivel personal experimentan transformaciones en sus relaciones sociales, muchas veces lejos de sus redes de apoyo habituales, como familias, amigos y comunidades natales. En estas circunstancias, algunos estudios sugieren que la adaptación al entorno universitario, así como el éxito académico, muchas veces se encuentran más relacionados con las fortalezas personales que permiten afrontar situaciones complejas, con el compromiso hacia la carrera, así como con la capacidad de formar redes de cooperación con otros que sirvan de apoyo en la resolución de problemas personales y académicos de manera óptima (Allan et al, 2014;Marenco-Escuderos et al, 2021).…”

“…Adjustment of first-year students to university environments, as well as their academic success, is not exclusively related to their academic aptitude; instead, this adjustment is associated with psychological characteristics, personal and even social resources that help students cope with stressors and new circumstances. A comprehensive assessment of the students' adjustment to university environment must transcend preoccupation on academic performance, and instead explore associations among psychological, academic, and social elements that promote adaptation during the initial years of higher education (Marenco-Escuderos et al, 2021). In this line of research, the objective of this work was to inquire how internal characteristics of students (psychological and academic) interplay with external elements in their support systems to promote adaptation in a higher education environment.…”