Understanding college students’ ecological contexts: A mixed methods and integrative approach

Introduction: Understanding how students thrive—not just achieve—in college is an important psychological and social question. This study examines the social systems in students’ lives and their relationships with student well-being and academic achievement. Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach integrating psychology and social work perspectives, we analyzed 90 student ecomaps to investigate the number and qualities of students’ identified social systems and examined their predictive value across measures associated with student well-being and achievement. Results: Ecomap analysis provides deeper insight into the relational and environmental contexts shaping students’ experiences, highlighting the importance of relationship quality, strength, and reciprocity within their ecological systems. Discussion: The findings reinforce the importance of adopting a holistic, systems-oriented approach to understanding student well-being, recognizing that students’ experiences extend beyond individual characteristics and academic performance.