Title

Family Functioning, Contributions to College Expenses, Access to Mentors, and College Student's Health and Flourishing: Examining Moderation by Family Structure

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-9-2022

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate how family functioning, family contributions to college expenses, and access to mentors are associated with college student’s self-reported health and flourishing, and to test for moderation by family structure. Participants: Undergraduate college students (N = 238) recruited through an email list-serve at a large midwestern state university. Methods: Participants completed an online survey (distributed through Qualtrics) in February 2020. Data were analyzed using linear regression (in SPSS 28) and simple slope analyses. Results: College students’ access to mentors is associated with their self-reported health, and family structure moderates the association between family strengths and self-reported health. Family functioning and access to mentors are both associated with college students’ flourishing. Conclusions: College students’ health and flourishing may benefit from access to mentors and functional family dynamics. Though students from post-divorce families see fewer benefits from family strengths compared to peers in nuclear biological families.

Comments

This article was originally published as Russell, L. T., & Su-Russell, C. (2022). Family functioning, contributions to college expenses, access to mentors, and college student’s health and flourishing: Examining moderation by family structure. Journal of American College Health, (Latest Articles). https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2109035

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