The moderating effect of social support on the relationship between burnout, intention to drop out, and satisfaction with studies of first-year university students

This study investigated the relationships between student burnout, intention to drop out, and satisfaction with studies, considering their self-reported social support from parents and significant others. First-year black African students from a peri-urban South African university campus (n = 452; females = 58.63%; mean age = 20.08 years, SD = 2.70 years) completed burnout, intention to drop out, satisfaction with studies, and social support measures. Regression analyses showed students with higher burnout symptoms (i.e. exhaustion, cynicism, and lack of professional efficacy) to have a higher intention to drop out from university and to be less satisfied with their studies. Social support from parents and significant others moderated certain relationships between burnout, intention to drop out, and satisfaction with studies. Understanding the role of social support on quality of student life could assist academic development and support services to provide better-targeted interventions with first-year university students.