Measurement and Predictive Invariance of Social Support and Psychological Distress Among First- and Continuing-Generation College Students

Social support and psychological distress should be regularly measured when conducting assessments with college students. However, the psychological impact of stressors experienced by college students is subjective and major differences exist between first- and continuing-generation college students where first-generation students typically present with greater distress. One differentiating construct is the protective factor of social support. Assessment efforts in college student populations require psychometrically robust measures of social support and psychological distress. This exploratory study evaluated (1) social support and psychological distress for first- and continuing-generation college students, and (2) the measurement and predictive invariance of two social support measures between student groups in the context of psychological distress. Results offer preliminary evidence supporting the measurement and predictive invariance of both instruments, suggesting they perform equally well in first- and continuing-generation students when used to predict psychological distress. Follow-up analyses revealed group differences in social support and psychological distress, but that associations between these constructs are similar between first- and continuing-generation students.