Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 570

Proceedings of the International Conference on Economics, Business, Social, and Humanities (ICEBSH 2021)

The Relationship Between Perceptions of Social Support

and Self-Esteem in University Graduates
Wellyda Olga Hutagalung1 Denrich Suryadi1*
1
Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Tarumanagara, Jakarta, Indonesia
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
University graduates in most countries are facing difficulty in finding work along with the complexity of job
integration. University graduates during their study learn strictly basic concepts without further application
and this leads to them not being ready for work. This has resulted in university graduate unemployment rates
being consistently higher than the adult population of many countries. The intense competition in the job
market requires university graduates to have good self-esteem in order to be more confident in developing
their career. Strengthening the career adaptability of a university graduate requires more than just improving
self-esteem. It involves social support from the people in their life. This study aims to determine the
relationship between perceptions of social support and self-esteem in university graduates.

Keywords: perceptions of social support, self-esteem, university graduate

1. INTRODUCTION to influence the cognition of every human being [6]. It is

important for university graduates to develop better self-
The unemployment rate among university graduates is esteem in order to be more confident in preparing
consistently higher than that of the adult population in themselves to develop a career according to [7]. This
many countries, and this has become a new social problem attitude can bring individuals to success, trigger self-
[1]. When viewed from the perspective of university confidence, and improve self-esteem [8].
graduates themselves, it is found that while studying in Rosenberg's theory measures self-esteem globally in
university they learn only basic concepts without further adolescence and early adulthood. Furthermore, [9] self-
application and this causes them to not be ready for work esteem is directly and indirectly related to adaptation with
[2]. This is apart from the problem of mismatch between the support from family, friends, and important people
the skills possessed and the demands of the expected level during an individual's life. In strengthening the career
of work because university graduates tend to lack work adaptability, a university graduate requires more than just
experience. a focus on increasing self-esteem. It needs to involve
Based on data from the 2018 Higher Education Statistics social support from people in their life [10].
Book of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher [11] stated that the perception of social support is the
Education, the number of tertiary education graduates in assistance received by individuals which comes from
Indonesia in 2018 was 1.2 million. Individuals who have family, friends, and significant others. There are two
just graduated tend to try to get a job or develop a career. dimensions of social support, namely; perceived social
Research [3] found that unemployed individuals had, on support and received social support. Perceived social
average, about one point lower on life satisfaction scale support is seen as an individual's perception of the amount
compared to individuals who had steady jobs. The and quality of support received from his/her social
presence of family and social pressures associated with job network, whereas received social support is defined as
search activities and higher expectations on university calculating the purpose of assistance and assistance
graduates also serve as potential mediators of stress and received by individuals from his/her social network [10].
depression among university graduates [4]. On the other Self-esteem is hypothesized to be an important mediator
hand, there was a significant reduction in stress levels for because individuals with very low social support are rarely
university graduates who got their desired jobs, satisfied with themselves and are more likely to possess
demonstrating how important work is to them. It seems low self-esteem, which would significantly worsen their
clear that both unemployment and underemployment psychological well-being [11]. A consequence model of
status are a cause of stress for university graduates, while self-esteem suggests that individuals with a positive level
finding a job that fits their career plan has significant of perceived social support show higher self-esteem, or a
mental health benefits [5]. higher sense of social value [12].
Self-esteem plays an important role as the key to
maintaining a positive attitude towards life and being able

Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.

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2. THEORETICAL REVIEW The first dissemination of participant data based on

gender. Based on the table above, it can be seen that the
According to Rosenberg (1965), self-esteem is defined as number of male research participants was 39, with a
an attitude, liked or disliked, of an individual. There are percentage of 32.5% of the total study participants.
two types of approaches in understanding self-esteem, Furthermore, the number of female research participants
namely, global self-esteem and specific self-esteem [13]. amounted to 81 people, with a percentage of 67.5% of the
Global self-esteem is manifested in feelings about oneself, total study participants. The distribution of data on
whereas certain aspects of self-esteem include various participants in the second study was based on age.
thoughts related to oneself, while specific self-esteem
assesses oneself from various aspects. Table 2 Description of the Distribution of Research
[13] stated that the perception of social support is the Participants by Age
assistance received by individuals which comes from Age Frequency Percentage Cumulative
family, friends, and significant others. Perception of social
support according to (Barrera, 1986) in [14] is a cognitive 20 10 8,3 8,3
assessment of individuals who are able to connect well 21 27 22,5 30,8
with other people. Perceptions of social support plays an 22 41 34,2 65,0
important role for individuals to be able to adapt to new 23 23 19,2 84,2
situations and environments and to gain self-confidence 24 10 8,3 92,5
[15].
25 9 7,5 100,0
It is an accepted fact by most people that the family is the
most important source of the perception of social support
for an individual as a social being [16]. Individuals with Total 120 100,0 100,0
high self-esteem show more ways of coping with problems
and challenges in life than individuals who do not [17]. Based on the data from the table above, it can be seen that
High self-esteem has been shown to be associated with the participants of this study were included in the category
better outcomes in several aspects such as mental health, of young adults. The age interval that dominates the
better coping skills, and is also associated with a lower risk participants of this study is the age of 22 years with a total
of depression in both adolescents and adults [18]. of 41 people and a percentage of 34.2% of the total study
participants. Then, followed by the 21 year age group with
a total of 27 people and a percentage of 22.5% of the total
3. RESEARCH METHOD study participants. Then, the next age interval is 23 years
with the number of study participants as many as 23
Participants in this study were university graduates who people and a percentage of 19.2% of the total study
according to [20] are individuals who had legally participants.
graduated from university within a minimum period of six Other age categories did not have a significant difference
months. Meanwhile, the definition of a university graduate in numbers, except at the age of 20 and 24 which had the
is an individual who has just completed a higher education same number, namely 8.3% of participants.
level, as those who have a bachelor's degree or
undergraduate (S1) and do not have formal work Table 3 An overview of the distribution of participants
experience within a maximum time limit of up to 1 year
based on the origin of the faculty
[20]. Data collection was done using questionnaire and
research sampling uses non-probability sampling Faculty Frequency Percentage
technique. This research is a non-experimental,
quantitative correlational research. Economy 12 10,0
In this study, the total number of participants involved was Psychology 35 29,2
120 people. The distribution of research participants was Law 11 9,2
divided into gender, age, and the faculty origin of the Technique 13 10,8
participants. An overview of the distribution of Medical 6 5,0
participants can be seen in the following tables: Information 7 5,8
Technology
Table 1 Description of the Distribution of Participant Fine Art Design 7 5,8
Data by Gender Communication 4 3,3
Gender Frequency Percentage Cumulative Others 25 20,8

Male 39 32,5 32,5 Total 120 100,0

Female 81 67,5 100,0
The table above shows an overview of the distribution of
Total 120 100,0 100,0 research participants based on the faculty origin of the
participants. Based on the origin of the faculty, the group

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of participants is divided into nine categories, namely, the Researchers found that there was a positive correlation
faculties of economics, psychology, law, engineering, between perceptions of social support and the self-esteem
medicine, information technology, art and design, of university graduates. A positive correlation indicates
communication, and others. The largest number of that the value of one variable increases, so the value of the
participants from the faculty origin category came from other variable will also increase. For this reason, it can be
the Psychology faculty with a total of 35 participants with predicted that the higher the perception of social support
a percentage of 29.2%. The second largest number came an individual has, especially university graduates, the
from other faculties, namely 25 people with a percentage higher the self-esteem of that individual. Based on the
of 20.8% of the total research participants. As long as the analysis conducted, it can be concluded that there is a
other faculties do not have a significant difference. significant positive relationship between the perception of
social support and self-esteem in university graduates.
4. DATA ANALYSIS That is, the higher the perception of social support, the
higher the self-esteem among university graduates.
In this study, the total number of participants was 120
people consisting of 39 men and 81 women. The research 6. DISCUSSION
hypothesis states that there is a positive relationship
between perceptions of social support and self-esteem. The The authors discovered a phenomenon happening in most
data processing used SPSS v.25 application, using countries that university graduates experience a financial
Spearman correlation test. For N = 120 and a significance crisis and feel unable to be integrated in society. The
level of (α = 5%), the result is r = 0.041, which indicates findings of [21] imply that individuals with high self-
that the perception of social support and self-esteem is esteem fight for their lives persistently and are able to face
significantly related. This shows that there is a relationship all potential threats. A consequence model of self-esteem
between the perception of social support and self-esteem suggests that positive social support can result in higher
in university graduates. self-esteem [22]. In particular, higher self-esteem can lead
The researchers found that there is a positive correlation individuals to develop positive social support networks
between perceptions of social support and the self-esteem because of their belief in their social value. Whereas
of university graduates. A positive correlation indicates individuals with lower self-esteem have difficulty building
that if the value of one variable increases, the value of the positive social support systems because they usually avoid
other variable will also increase. For this reason, it can be social interactions due to fear of rejection by others [22].
predicted that the higher the perception of social support Then based on the results of the analysis in the additional
an individual has, especially university graduates, the data analysis table, it was found that the three dimensions
higher the self-esteem. of the variable social support perception showed a
significance to the self-esteem of university graduates.
Table 4 Correlation between Perceptions of Social With the increasing need for knowledge in workers, the
Support and Self-Esteem demand for competent new university graduates is the key
Variable Sig to human capital that has grown substantially [23]. High
Perceptions of Social 0,041 self-esteem is associated with feelings of certainty and
resilience to stressful or uncertain states [24]. Individuals
Support
with high self-esteem have relatively more self-confidence
[25]. Based on the results of the analysis of research data
and the results of the discussion above, it can be concluded
5. CONCLUSION that good self-esteem comes from the perception of social
support that an individual has, especially among university
In this study, the total number of participants involved was graduates, is important.
120 people consisting of 39 men and 81 women. The There are two factors according to [18] that influence a
research hypothesis states that there is a positive person's self-esteem, first internal factors such as intrinsic
relationship between the variable perceptions of social factors which are characterized by qualities that early
support and self-esteem. From the results of research data adulthood may have inherently, such as social competence
processing using the SPSS 25 application, with data or positive identity. Extrinsic factors are those
analysis techniques Spearman correlation test. This means characterized by environmental aspects of young adult life
that for N = 120 and a significance level of (α = 5%), the such as the support, boundaries and expectations of
result is r = 0.041 which indicates that the perception of families and educational institutions. This is confirmed
social support and self-esteem is significantly related to through the results of the score interval category on the
1.o.s 0.05. This significant relationship makes the null three dimensions of perceptions of social support, namely
hypothesis rejected and the alternative hypothesis friends, family, and significant others, which shows that in
accepted, so it can be interpreted that there is a positive the category of significant others dimensions, university
relationship between the perception of social support and graduates who are in the high category are 83.3%. There
self-esteem in university graduates. are 85.8% of the family dimension category of university
graduates who are in the high category, and the dimension

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category of friends of university graduates who are accordance with the definition of informational support,
classified as high category is 73.3%. [18] also estimate the namely, the support that individuals get when interacting
contribution of individual developmental factors, both with people who advise, provide advice, and support to
internal and external, which is associated with the guide individuals.
maintenance of high self-esteem in early adulthood. Further practical advice, graduates should increase their
Based on the results of the research and discussion above, confidence in their abilities through means such as
it can be said that the perception of social support which conducting self-evaluation by knowing their weaknesses
consists of three dimensions, namely family, friends, and and strengths as well as measuring their own abilities
significant others has a positive correlation to one's self- during the waiting period. After knowing this, the author
esteem, especially in this study are university graduates. suggests comparing the skills mastered with the demand
The perception that the individual has about how much for the labor market. Taking several internship
support he feels from his immediate or social environment opportunities will help increase skills, knowledge, self-
is able to influence the assessment of his self-esteem, so confidence and even add to the portfolio in the CV.
that the higher the perception of social support obtained by Finally, for university graduates, it is advisable to show
university graduates, the more high self-esteem too. new skills by updating the profile information on
professional social media accounts and adding data to CVs
7. SUGGESTION and resumes. Practicing short speeches for a job interview
can also boost your confidence. Good self-confidence will
Based on the research results that have been obtained, the open wider opportunities for job success for university
authors suggest several things related to theoretical graduates in starting their careers.
benefits and also for further research. The first suggestion, Furthermore, suggestions for companies or employing
if research participants continue to use university organizations would be able to adjust the expectations of
graduates, the next researcher can consider as well as pay their employees who are still included in the category of
attention to the distribution of the number of participants new university graduates as well as provide opportunities
by gender. This is intended so that the results of the for them to demonstrate their abilities and performance.
research that will be obtained can be more even and Adjusting these expectations is suggested through
balanced in terms of the gender of the participants and the persuasive ways such as providing motivation and social
implications of this evenly distributed data can make the support from the workplace for employees who are new
results of the research data more representative. The university graduates with the hope of being able to
second suggestion departs from the research background increase self-confidence and confidence in work
that it is known that workers' skills are considered as a key performance.
variable capable of influencing the competitiveness of a
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