This hermeneutic and post-intentional phenomenological study explored how trauma experiences affected sense of belonging for undergraduate students. Results suggest five salient textures of belonging after trauma, including silence, validation, isolation, compassion, and betrayal. Implications for student affairs practice are presented to frame…

Middle Eastern American (MEA) college students in the United States navigate normative developmental changes related to peer relationships, academic achievement, and college adjustment, often while facing discrimination, stereotyping, and racial profiling. We interviewed 25 MEA first-year and second-year college students about their perceived…

University life can be stressful and students may struggle to adjust socially. We examined students' social achievement goals--their orientations towards their relationships with their peers--as one important factor underlying students' social and psychological adjustment in college. When investigating the direct and indirect effects of social…

Undergraduates (N = 2,823) at 6 universities were surveyed longitudinally to examine the relevance of student home setting on the transition to university. Preliminary results indicated that rural students seem less likely to attend large, ethnically diverse universities. Hierarchical linear models revealed that "proximal rural" students…

Using a self-reported assessment of 320 first-time college students, we tested the hypothesis that one's ability to manage emotion moderates the relationship between family environment and college adjustment. Results add to growing evidence that the way one views one's whole family environment during the emerging adulthood years is linked to one's…

The present study is the first to examine the moderating effects of mental and social health status in the relationship between protective behavioral strategies utilized to reduce high-risk drinking (e.g., alternating alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks or avoiding drinking games) and alcohol outcomes (drinking variables and alcohol-related negative…

This study examined effects of a peer-led social support group intervention on college adjustment. Ninety first-year students, randomly assigned to participate in the intervention, reported higher levels of perceived social support and reduced loneliness when compared to controls (n = 94), after accounting for preintervention levels on these…

The first year of college constitutes a time of substantial transition for incoming students. Clearly, students vary greatly in their ability to cope with and adjust to these new challenges, and some students face far more challenges than others. A potentially important resource for successfully accomplishing this life transition is positive…

This article reports on an empirical study of the psychosocial adaptation of international students in Ireland. Using measures of social support, loneliness, stress, psychological well-being, and sociocultural adaptation, data were obtained from international students and a comparison sample of Irish students. The study found that, although…

According to developmental research, peer relationships serve a positive function in children's, adolescents', and adults' lives. We expected that peer relationships would also benefit emerging adults as they transition into college. Using friendship quality and attachment measures, we examined the link between the closeness of peer relationships…

The current study examined the joint effects of stress, social support, and self-esteem on adjustment to university. First-year undergraduate students (N = 115) were assessed during the first semester and again 10 weeks later, during the second semester of the academic year. Multiple regressions predicting adjustment to university from perceived…

White undergraduate students matriculating at an HBCU express less overt evidence of social adjustment barriers than Black students at predominantly White institutions. Although White students reported a sense of under-representation, they reported no direct experiences of overt racism and reported good relationships and strong support from HBCU…

Examined predictors of social adjustment and academic achievement for two groups of women students attending coeducational university. For students with precollege leadership (n=47), number of cocurricular involvements was significant predictor of social adjustment, whereas being involved in cocurricular activity significantly predicted social…

Ninety-five freshmen completed measures of attachment, family conflict, family structure, psychological distress, and social adjustment. Attachment to mother predicted less psychological distress and attachment to father and structure predicted better social adjustment. Conflict reduced attachment and predicted psychological distress. Attachment…

Examines academic, social, and personal-emotional adjustment, as well as institutional attachment for women (N=198) attending a predominantly white coeducational research university. Significant main effects were found on academic achievement for year in college. Students differed on personal-emotional adjustment by race. Academic adjustment and…