Self-efficacy as the moderator: Exploring driving factors of perceived social support for mainland Chinese students in Taiwan

More and more mainland Chinese college students study in Taiwan. Social support is one of the main factors helping them study and live happily in Taiwan. This study aims to investigate the relationships among self-efficacy, social identity, and perceived social support through online social networks in helping mainland Chinese college students improve their adaption ability of diversified campuses in Taiwan. We assume social identity affects positively perceived social support, and self-efficacy served as a moderator of the relationships between social identify and social support. A convenience sample of 366 mainland Chinese students from five universities in Taiwan was conducted to validate the hypotheses. The results revealed that affective and cognitive identification were significantly and positively related to perceived emotional, tangible and informational support. The moderator, self-efficacy, was shown to moderate the three relationships from affective identification to emotional, tangible and informational support. Also, it moderated the relationships from cognitive identification to tangible support, but not the relationships from cognitive identification to emotional and informational support. The suggestions for Taiwanese host universities to lighten the stress of study adaptation of mainland Chinese college students are provided. Affective and cognitive identification positively relate to perceived emotional, tangible and informational support.Self-efficacy moderates the relationships from affective identification to emotional, tangible and informational support.Self-efficacy moderates the relationships from cognitive identification to tangible support.

[1]  Dillon K. Inouye,et al.  Learned helplessness through modeling: The role of perceived similarity in competence. , 1978 .

[2]  M. Hogg,et al.  Book Review: Social identifications: A social psychology of intergroup relations and group processes , 1991 .

[3]  E. Karademas.  Self-efficacy, social support and well-being The mediating role of optimism , 2006 .

[4]  Mark Levine,et al.  Identity and Emergency Intervention: How Social Group Membership and Inclusiveness of Group Boundaries Shape Helping Behavior , 2005, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[5]  Neil S. Coulson,et al.  Receiving Social Support Online: An Analysis of a Computer-Mediated Support Group for Individuals Living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome , 2005, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[6]  Эшфорт Блейк,et al.  Social identity theory and the organization , 2012 .

[7]  Frederick P. Morgeson,et al.  Cognitive and affective identification: Exploring the links between different forms of social identification and personality with work attitudes and behavior , 2012 .

[8]  Hui-Jung Chang,et al.  Online supportive interactions: Using a network approach to examine communication patterns within a psychosis social support group in Taiwan , 2009, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[9]  Louis Leung,et al.  Multiple determinants of life quality: the roles of Internet activities, use of new media, social support, and leisure activities , 2005, Telematics Informatics.

[10]  Sönke Albers,et al.  The Impact of Technological and Organizational Implementation of CRM on Customer Acquisition, Maintenance, and Retention , 2009 .

[11]  I. Eibl-Eibesfeldt,et al.  Mechanisms Linking Social Ties and Support to Physical and Mental Health , 2011, Journal of health and social behavior.

[12]  S. Shumaker,et al.  Toward a Theory of Social Support: Closing Conceptual Gaps , 1984 .

[13]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  Identification with Organizations , 1998 .

[14]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[15]  A. Herrmann,et al.  The Social Influence of Brand Community: Evidence from European Car Clubs , 2005 .

[16]  David F. Larcker,et al.  Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error: Algebra and Statistics: , 1981 .

[17]  Geng Cui,et al.  Terms of Use , 2003 .

[18]  Abraham Carmeli,et al.  Perceived External Prestige, Organizational Identification and Affective Commitment: A Stakeholder Approach , 2006 .

[19]  Karen Gasper,et al.  Affect as information , 2013 .

[20]  J. Suhr,et al.  Controllability of Stressful Events and Satisfaction With Spouse Support Behaviors , 1992 .

[21]  Jack Shih-Chieh Hsu,et al.  Exploring Individuals' Loyalty To Online Support Groups From the Perspective Of Social Support , 2012, PACIS.

[22]  H. Tajfel.  Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. , 1978 .

[23]  R. Chung,et al.  Gender, ethnicity, and acculturation in intergenerational conflict of Asian American college students. , 2001, Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology.

[24]  R. Schwarzer,et al.  Is General Self-Efficacy a Universal Construct ? * Psychometric Findings from 25 Countries , 2002 .

[25]  N. Ellemers,et al.  Group commitment and individual effort in experimental and organizational contexts. , 1999 .

[26]  A. Bandura,et al.  Cultivating competence, self-efficacy, and intrinsic interest through proximal self-motivation. , 1981 .

[27]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action , 1986 .

[28]  H. Tajfel,et al.  Social categorization and intergroup behaviour , 1971 .

[29]  Holly Arrow,et al.  A Tripartite Model of Group Identification , 1999 .

[30]  J. Jetten,et al.  Taking the strain: social identity, social support, and the experience of stress. , 2005, The British journal of social psychology.

[31]  Brent Mallinckrodt,et al.  Acculturation, attachment, and psychosocial adjustment of Chinese/Taiwanese international students. , 2006 .

[32]  J. House,et al.  Measures and concepts of social support , 1985 .

[33]  Rolf van Dick,et al.  MY JOB IS MY CASTLE: IDENTIFICATION IN ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXTS , 2005 .

[34]  J. Hair.  Multivariate data analysis , 1972 .

[35]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  Identification in Organizations: An Examination of Four Fundamental Questions , 2008 .

[36]  E. Giammarco,et al.  Relationships between general self-efficacy, planning for the future, and life satisfaction , 2015 .

[37]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[38]  F. Fisher.  Tests of Equality Between Sets of Coefficients in Two Linear Regressions: An Expository Note , 1970 .

[39]  A. Bandura.  Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[40]  J. Tsai,et al.  The conception of depression in Chinese American college students. , 2000, Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology.

[41]  R. Schwarzer,et al.  Is General Self-Efficacy a Universal Construct?1 , 2002 .