Mental health concerns among college students have been rising in recent years (Worsley et al., 2022). One mechanism that may mitigate stress is social support, which is support derived from relationships or the environment (Zee & Bolger, 2019). Social support presents in numerous forms, including visible social support, or support directly given to and acknowledged by the recipient, and invisible social support, or support given without acknowledgement by the recipient. Visible social support is more effective in immediate, high-stress situations while invisible social support has higher efficacy over time (Girme et al., 2013). Previous research shows correlations between using campus resources and higher levels of belongingness (Elkins et al., 2011; Weaver et al., 2020). The present study examined how community resources may act as a form of invisible social support. Specifically, this study tested the extent that merely reading about resources could raise feelings of social support and belongingness.
