The Role of Family and Friends in Building Students' Self-Confidence When Looking for Work

Abstract

This study looks at how support from family and friends affects students' confidence when searching for a job. In today's tough job market, students need more than good grades—they also need a strong mindset, especially confidence in themselves. The research used numbers and a statistical method called multiple linear regression to find out how much family and friend support influences students' self-confidence. They picked final-year students through a specific sampling method and asked them to answer a questionnaire with five options, measuring both the support they get from family and friends and their own confidence levels. The results showed that both family and friend support help increase students' confidence, but family support has a bigger impact. On its own, family support had a stronger effect (β = 0.466; Sig. 0.000) than friend support (β = 0.293; Sig. 0.005). When both were studied together, they both had a big effect on confidence, with an F-value of 47.225 and a significance level of 0.000, which is less than 0.05. The R² value of 0.493 shows that about 49.3% of the changes in students' confidence can be explained by these two types of support. These findings match Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy theory and House’s (1981) social support theory, which highlight how important a supportive environment is for a person's belief in their own abilities. In practice, the study suggests that universities should involve both families and friends in career programs to help students build more confidence and be better ready for the challenges of the job market.