Improving Social Policy with National Data

A Comparison of Social Support for Students Among Canadian Provinces

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine social support for students as it related to individual and provincial characteristics in Canada, with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth and census data. The data included 7,648 students aged 8 to 11 years from 10 provinces. Factor analysis indicated two latent factors underlining social support for students: perceived personal support and perceived institutional support. Results of hierarchical linear modelling show that perceived personal support did not fluctuate with provincial characteristics. Students who were immigrants to Canada, with low socioeconomic status (SES), and with poor prosocial behavior perceived less personal support. Students in provinces with higher birth rates perceived less institutional support. SES and family size had strong effects on perceived institutional support in some provinces but weak effects in other provinces. Students from both-parent households, with emotional problems, and from large families perceived less institutional support.