Psychosocial Determinants of Adaptive Coping in University Students: The Role of Social Support and Emotional Regulation
Abstract
Perceived social support (PSS) serves as a key psychosocial determinant that influences emotional regulation among university students. This cross-sectional study examined the relationships between family, friend, and significant other support and emotional regulation strategies specifically, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression while also exploring the influences of demographic factors including gender, birth order, and socioeconomic status. Participants included 256 students from Riphah International University, recruited via convenient sampling. Pearson correlation analyses revealed strong positive associations between PSS sources and cognitive reappraisal (family: r = .73, p < .001; friend: r = .75, p < .001; significant other: r = .73, p < .001) as well as expressive suppression (family: r = .63, p < .001; friend: r = .61, p < .001; significant other: r = .57, p < .001). Multiple regression analyses indicated that cognitive reappraisal was significantly predicted by family support (β = .24, p < .001), friend support (β = .37, p < .001), and significant other support (β = .25, p < .001). Expressive suppression was significantly predicted by family support (β = .37, p < .001) and friend support (β = .28, p < .001) but not by significant other support (β = .16, p > .05). Gender differences emerged in cognitive reappraisal, with males scoring higher than females. Second-born students reported higher levels of both cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression than first-born students. Socioeconomic status was associated with emotion regulation, with upper-class students demonstrating higher scores on both strategies than middle- and lower-class peers. These findings highlight the pivotal role of social support in fostering adaptive emotion regulation and support the development of targeted interventions to promote university students' emotional well-being.
Keywords: Social Support, Emotional Regulation, Cognitive Reappraisal, Expressive Suppression
