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Research on supportive communication was examined in relation to students’ goals of earning a college degree and their intent to persist. Theories of student departure (Bean, 1985; Tinto, 1993) informed research questions assessing the impact of how social support from family members and friends affected commitment to the goal of graduation and how commitment to the goal of graduation influenced intent to persist. First-year college students completed a questionnaire at 2 time points during their first year of college. Results revealed that initial support from family and friends positively impacted initial commitment to the goal of graduation. Subsequent support from family impacted subsequent commitment to the goal of graduating, and subsequent commitment to graduating impacted intention to persist.
Strom et al. (Mon,) studied this question.