Freshmen college students often experience a dramatic change in activities, values, and personal demands compared to home and previous schooling. To investigate the relationship between psychological maladjustment and stressful life events, locus of control, and social support networks, 62 college freshmen in their first semester of school…

Surveyd 1,768 students to examine the incidence of suicidal thoughts. Results showed 5.7 percent of the males and 6.1 percent of the females had recently considered suicide, citing family problems, poor self-concept, drug abuse, delinquency, and inner turmoil. (JAC)

Reviewed the anxiety literature relating to university students, including: (a) a historical prospective of research; (b) the effects of anxiety level on learning; (c) associations among anxiety and learning performance and intellectual ability, sex difference, task difficulty, and situational variables; and (d) treatment. (JAC)

Two successive classes of accelerated medical students were administered a variety of tests to find predictors of medical school grades. Through a combination of the Hand Test and Rorschach, a single index of maladjustment, Daubney Index, was derived. This correlated -.55 with medical school grades for 23 students. (Author/SJL)

To further research on individual and environmental predictors of college student adjustment, surveyed 56 first-year college students. Although individual variables (e.g., problem-solving skills) were related most strongly to adjustment, environmental variables (e.g., social support) made significant incremental contributions to predictions of…

Investigated the relationships between social support, perceived stress, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction among 94 first-year college students. Found that students who reported higher levels of social support and self-efficacy and lower levels of perceived stress also reported higher levels of life satisfaction. Social support and stress…

Studied the influence of parenting, personality, and school adjustment on early adolescent substance use in 1,023 middle school students. Findings indicate similarity in etiology of early adolescent substance use across gender and ethnicity; the importance of examining multiple domains of influence on adolescent substance use; and the need to…

Using discriminant analysis, a study examined (1) the extent to which the new Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ) accurately predicts student departure for a private, comprehensive university (n=1,978 students); (2) SACQ items distinguishing nonpersisters; (3) use with an incoming class; and (4) evidence linking the SACQ with…

Describes nature of first-grade transition and studies investigating how children's schooling proceeds over this period. Highlights study using Beginning School Study data to examine effects of full-day rather than half-day kindergarten, living in different family arrangements, and other circumstances such as Head Start participation. Found that…

The College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEA) was used to estimate the impact of attending a historically Black college or university on social and academic outcomes in college. Findings extend previous research by suggesting attendance at a historically Black college significantly enhances academic and social growth of students. (Author)

This article offers a developmental perspective on college drinking by focusing on broad developmental themes during adolescence and the transition to young adulthood. Links between developmental transitions and alcohol use and other health risks are discussed in light of five conceptual models: Overload; Developmental Mismatch; Increased…

This study focuses on factors predicting school adjustment of immigrant adolescents. One hundred seventy-five immigrant adolescents of Vietnamese origin in Finland (ages 13 to 18) were compared with a sample of host national Finnish youth (N = 337). The immigrant adolescents were better adjusted to school than were their host national peers. In…

Rated the adjustment of 129 newly mainstreamed learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, and mildly developmentally disabled pupils. While the teachers were, in general, very satisfied with the pupils' progress in both academic and behavioral areas, satisfaction declined after grade six. IQ data did not predict satisfactory adjustment. (JAC)

Investigated the utility of several variables in discriminating between students who seek counseling and those who do not. Interaction between personal adjustment and help-seeking status was also examined. Alternate sources of help, counseling usefulness, and perceived severity of help-seeker pathology descriminated seekers from nonseekers.…

Occupational goals of students were related to their attitudes and expectations about college. Attitudes concerning selection of major and the career choice process were also related to occupational goals. Occupational goals not only are excellent predictors of future occupation, but also are part of the vocational decision-making process. (Author)