Risk and Protective Factors Explaining First-Year College Adjustment

Background and Purpose:

This study examined risk and protective factors associated with first-year college adjustment, testing the specific hypothesis that risk factors will negatively impact first-year college adjustment and protective factors will positively impact first-year college adjustment when controlling for pertinent socio-demographic and psychosocial factors. 

Methods:

A correlation study design was utilized to determine the effects of risk and protective factors on first-year students’ adjustment to college.  Data were collected through an online survey administered to first-year college students at a large semi-rural state university.  In total, 348 students completed the online survey about their experience adjusting to college. Measures included a brief 20-item shortened version of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ), Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Academic Self Efficacy (ASE), Life Orientation Test- Revised (LOT–R), Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), and socio-demographic and psychosocial factors.

Results:

The study found that the risk factors significantly associated with college adjustment included psychiatric medication, fearful-avoidant attachment, and anxious-preoccupied attachment.  The protective factors that significantly improve first-year college adjustment included resilience, academic self-efficacy, and optimism.  Disability was the only control factor that demonstrated an impact on college adjustment.  The risk factors, protective factors, and control variables analyzed in this study accounted for 54% of the variance.  Notably, risk factors lost their significance after adjusting for protective factors. 

Conclusions and Implications:

This is the first study to frame contributing factors related to first-year college adjustment in terms of risk and protective factors, which is novel to this research domain.  Even when first-year students present to campus with risk factors, it is evident from this study that strengths compensate for these vulnerabilities.  A major clinical implication from these findings is that college mental health professionals must assess for protective factors and enhance these strengths in an effort to improve first-year college adjustment, which is likely to impact graduation rates.  This college adjustment study demonstrates the importance of focusing on the protective factors of first-year college students, an emphasis consistent with the social work philosophy that values strengths of the individual.