An Exploration of Factors Influencing College Students' Academic and Social Adjustment

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of school life and to examine the influencing factors of academic adjustment and social adjustment in university students. This cross-sectional descriptive study by using secondary data from 2,064 subjects who responded to a self-rated student adjustment test. Descriptive, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Satisfaction with college selection, expectation for college, satisfaction with college service, emotional stability, and relationships with faculty were significantly higher among male students, whereas confidence in major, support from others were significantly higher among the female students. There was a significant positive relationship between academic adjustment and confidence in major, and between social adjustment and expectation for college. Confidence in major, relationships with faculty, emotional stability, expectation for college, satisfaction with college selection, and commitment to college life accounted for 31.8% of the variance in academic adjustment. In addition expectation for college, emotional stability, support from others, gender, commitment to college life, and satisfaction with college services accounted for 44.7% of the variance in social adjustment for university students. Overall, the results of this study suggest that understanding the levels of expectation for college, commitment to college life, and levels of emotional stability may be important for facilitating their transition and adjustment to university life.