Family Influence on Academic and Life Satisfaction: A Social Cognitive Perspective

Family influence is a key factor in many aspects of career development; however, very little research has examined the relationship between family and well-being. Drawing on social cognitive career theory, this study examined the influence of the family on college students’ academic and overall life satisfaction. The participants were 312 college students at a south Brazilian university who completed measures of family influence, along with measures of environmental supports and barriers, academic self-efficacy, goal progress, academic satisfaction, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Academic and life satisfaction were each well predicted in the model ( R² = .69 and .42, respectively). Results suggest that family expectations had a negative contribution in the model, and family support seemed to be very positive for academic and life satisfaction. The findings inform the practice, evidencing which family factors can booster and which can hamper college students’ academic and overall life satisfaction.