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A Latent Class Analysis of Adolescents in First-Year University: Associations with Psychosocial Adjustment Throughout the Emerging Adult Period and Post-University Outcomes

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Abstract

The long-term outcomes for adolescents who struggle in first-year university remain unexplored. This 7-year longitudinal study aimed to identify distinct groups of adolescents based on their characteristics/behaviors in first-year university, and then assess whether these groups differ in psychosocial adjustment trajectories (i.e., mental health, positive relationships) throughout the emerging adult period, as well as in graduation rates, employment characteristics, and reflections on time spent at university. Participants (N = 1017; 71% female; Year 1 Mage = 19 years) enrolled in a Canadian university completed a survey annually for 7 years. Four groups in Year 1 were identified: Good Students who exhibited no difficulties; Sensation-Seeking who prioritized social engagement and substance use over academic engagement but reported no psychological adjustment difficulties; Struggling Students who had the most difficulties; and Club Involved who exhibited high club involvement. The Struggling Students Group continued to have more psychosocial adjustment difficulties than the other groups during and after university, were more likely to drop out of university, and to later have less job satisfaction. This group requires the most support. Consideration also should be given to the Sensation-Seeking Group, as they reported a lack of academic motivation (and regret about that later) and also were more likely to drop out of university. At the same time, they may be more difficult to target given that they did not report psychosocial difficulties. Overall, the findings highlight the need for early support and discourage a ‘one-size fits all’ method for promoting psychosocial adjustment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada

    Teena Willoughby, Taylor Heffer, Victoria W. Dykstra, Hamnah Shahid & Joelle Braccio

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  1. Teena Willoughby
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  2. Taylor Heffer
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  3. Victoria W. Dykstra
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Contributions

T.W. conceived of the study, designed and performed the statistical analyses, and participated in the interpretation and drafting of the paper; T.H., V.W.D., H.S. and J.B. participated in the interpretation and drafting of the paper. All authors read and approved the final paper.

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This study was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to Teena Willoughby.

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This manuscript’s data will not be deposited.

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Correspondence to Teena Willoughby.

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This study has ethics approval from Brock University (REB 09-118 from 2009 to 2015, 16-324 from 2016 to present).

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Willoughby, T., Heffer, T., Dykstra, V.W. et al. A Latent Class Analysis of Adolescents in First-Year University: Associations with Psychosocial Adjustment Throughout the Emerging Adult Period and Post-University Outcomes. J Youth Adolescence 49, 2459–2475 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01318-7

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