Impact of social support on achievement motivation and emotional maturity of young adults

Abstract

Many aspects of life are on hold while people go to school, go to work, and prepare for a brighter future. Motivational and emotional aspects of an individual, especially in the case of young adults, are a determining factor in their success in life. This empirical study aims to examine how social support affects the level of achievement, motivation, and emotional maturity of young adults. Our study has a sample of 200 (males = 101, females = 99) high school and college students from different institutions in the Haryana and Delhi regions. Subjects were assessed using psychometric tools including the Achievement Motivation Test by VP Bhargava, the Emotional Maturity Scale by Dr. Yashvir Singh and Dr. Mahesh Bhargava, and the Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support by Gregory Zimet. Correlational analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The following findings were obtained: (a) There was a significant negative correlation (r = -0.230, -0.042) between achievement motivation and social support, but only in the male sample. (b) There was a moderate negative correlation of -0.418 between emotional maturity and social support in the male sample, and the correlation was insignificant for the female population. (c) Dimensions of emotional maturity, including social maladjustment, personality disintegration, and lack of independence, have a moderate negative correlation with social support in males, while emotional instability and emotional regression have a significant negative correlation with social support. This brings light to the influential role of social support in a high achiever’s motivation and emotional maturity.