Exploring the relationship between social and financial support and academic success in allied dental programs

Abstract

Social support has many affects on quality of life as well as student success.Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs states that lower level needs such as physiological and safety needs must be met in order for an individual to meet higher level needs, such as selfactualization. Social and financial support provide a means for students to have a variety of needs met. This research study was executed to investigate the nature of the relationship between social and financial support and student success in allied dental programs. This study surveyed people who attended and completed a CODA-accredited dental hygiene or dental assisting program in the United States, or who were in their final semester of such a program (N = 195). Instruments employing likert-type scales were utilized, and demographics were collected. Findings unveiled a positive relationship between academic success and general social support as well as social support from peers specifically. However, they also revealed that there is not a significant relationship between academic success and parental support or financial support. Data yielded information regarding the importance of social support in allied dental student success, which may help to direct how such programs encourage establishing of social bonds within cohorts. Finally, limitations and future directions are addressed.