Pengaruh Peer Social Support terhadap Homesickness pada Mahasiswa Baru Perantau di Universitas Negeri Padang

Abstract

This research aims to determine the effect of peer social support on homesickness among new student form out of town at Universitas Negeri Padang. The researcher used the peer social support scale (Primadhani, 2022) and homesickness scale (Yasmin et al., 2017) to measure both variables in this study. The sample used in this study consisted of 57 new student from out of town at Universitas Negeri Padang, selected through purposive sampling and the sample size was determined using the G*Power application. Data was analyzed using simple linear regression analysis technique. The results showed that peer social support has a significant effect on homesickness, thus Ha is accepted and H0 is rejected. The magnitude of the effect or coefficient of determination (R²) found that peer social support can explain homesickness by 34.6%. Then, a negative influence was found, meaning that the higher the peer social support, the lower the homesickness felt by new students from out of town at Universitas Negeri Padang. This is due to the fact that new students from out of town face various adaptation challenges that can lead to feelings of homesickness, so the presence of peers can help these new students navigate the initial phase of college life in a new environment. The implications of the research emphasize the importance of being aware of the effects of homesickness and building social relationships with peers as a way to reduce feelings of homesickness. University can design student activity programs that focus on strengthening relationships among students, especially for students from out of town, in order to reduce the level of homesickness experienced by students.