Social Support and Life Satisfaction Among Female College Students: Serial Mediation of Grit and Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction

Social support plays an important role in helping female college students in particular to achieve and feel well in the face of changing social circumstances. The present study aims to delve into the specific mechanisms through which social support contributes to enhancing life satisfaction among female college students. Therefore, a serial mediation model was tested to examine the relationship between social support, grit, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and life satisfaction among female college students. 588 female college students residing in China, with an average age of 19 years (SD = 1.29), participated in this study. The instruments used included the Social Support Scale, the Grit Scale, the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Scale. Correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to examine the relationships among the variables. The study findings reveal a positive association between higher levels of social support and increased grit, as well as satisfaction of basic psychological needs among female college students. The structural equation modeling confirms the validity of the serial mediation model. This model suggests that social support is a significant predictor of holistic well-being, with its influence on life satisfaction being partially mediated by grit and basic psychological needs satisfaction. The findings underscore the importance of social support as a potential pathway to enhancing life satisfaction through the cultivation of grit and the satisfaction of psychological needs.