Social support and happiness among Portuguese students and teachers
: exploring the role of family, peers/colleagues, and teachers/students

  • Vanessa Barreto Pinheiro (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

This study aimed to analyse the association between social support (family, peers/colleagues, and teachers/students) and happiness among Portugues students and teachers. The literature related to these social supports and happiness among students and teachers has shed light on how these different social supports influence student and teacher happiness; however, there is scarce literature comparing which of these social supports has the most influence on student and teacher happiness, nor about who displays more happiness between students and teachers. The sample consisted of 3130 students, between the ages of 9-20 years old (M= 31.31, SD= 2.41), that attended between 5th to 12th grade, and were from many regions in Portugal. It also consisted of 5038 teachers, between the ages of 20-70 years old (M= 53.02, SD= 7.49), from many regions in Portugal. These samples answered questionnaires consisting of various scales. The results indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between social support from family, peers/colleagues, and teachers/students and Portuguese students’ and teachers’ happiness; as well as familial support having the strongest association with student happiness, and student support having the strongest association with the teacher happiness. These results highlight the importance of Portuguese students and teachers having this type of social support.
Date of Award9 Jul 2024
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorLuísa Mota Ribeiro (Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Social support
  • Family
  • Peers/colleagues
  • Teachers/students
  • Happiness

Designation

  • Mestrado em Psicologia

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