College Adjustment During the Freshman Year: The Protective Role of Parents

Revision with unchanged content. Only half of entering college students manage to finish their degree in a 5 year period, and of the remaining half, 37% drop out altogether, suggesting that college students are at risk for failure to graduate on time or graduate at all. Additionally, the freshman year has been found to be critical in reducing attrition rates in subsequent years, and successful adjustment to college during the freshman year can significantly influence the entire undergraduate experience. The current work investigates how the parent-adolescent relationship and other supportive relationships are related to the academic, social, and personal-emotional expectations of adjustment and actual adjustment to college during the freshman year. The findings suggested that supportive relationships with parents may boost college students’ adjustment, and this was true even for students who moved away from home. Furthermore, the findings had implications for the students living arrangements, suggesting differences between students who live in the dorms and students who commute to school. The findings of the current work are important for entering college students, their parents and other supportive figures in the students’ environment. Moreover, the book provides important information to educators and university officials to ensure students’ successful adjustment to college.

Dr. Kostas Andrea Fanti: Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Georgia State University; Lecturer at the University of Cyprus, Department of Psychology. My research involves the identification of factors that can support children and adolescents when faced with stressful experiences.