Abstract
This study explores the concept of the ‘place-bound’ student, defined as perceived difficulty in leaving the immediate geographic area to attend school. Based on the literature, it was hypothesized that students who perceived greater difficulty would have fewer financial resources, higher external control orientation, greater attachment to family and romantic partners, and greater attachment to place. Finally, those who perceived greater difficulty were expected to be less successful academically, have lower adjustment to college scores, and have less satisfactory relationships with their parents. Availability of financial resources was not related to perceived difficulty in leaving the area. Attachment to persons and place were not related to being place-bound, except for women. For women, attachment to a romantic partner lead to greater perceived difficulty in leaving the area. However, another aspect of attachment to place, ‘rootedness,’ had highly significant effects. Women who were higher on external control were also more likely to have a greater perception of difficulty in leaving the area. More place-bound students were not found to be at a disadvantage in terms of academic performance or adjustment to the university. The findings regarding students’ relationships with their parents were interesting and contrary to prediction. Men who perceived greater difficulty reported much more satisfactory relationships with their mothers and fathers. It is suggested that these men might have chosen to stay in the area to attend school in order to remain near their families.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ainsworth, M.D.S. (1982). Attachment: Retrospect and prospect. In C.M. Parkes & J. Stevenson-Hinde (Eds.), The Place of Attachments in Human Behavior.(pp. 3–30). New York: Basic Books.
Allen, J.P. & Land, D. (1999). Attachment in adolescence. In J. Cassidy & P.R. Shaver (Eds.),Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications.New York: Guilford; pp. 319–335.
Armsden, C.G. & Greenberg, M.T. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427–454.
Aspinwall, L.G. & Taylor, S.E. (1992).Modeling cognitive adaptation: a longitudinal investigation of the impact of individual differences and coping on college adjustment and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 989–1003.
Behrman, J.R., Kletzer, L.G., McPherson, M.S., & Shapiro, M.O. (1995). How family background sequentially affects college choices: high school achievement, college enrollment and college quality. Duplicated.
Behrman, J.R., Kletzer, L.G., McPherson, M.S., & Shapiro, M.O. (1998).Microeconomics of college choice, careers, and wages. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 559, 12–23.
Bell, D.P. (1981). A National Study of Upper-level Institutions. AASCU Studies. American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Washington, D.C.
Berman, W.H. & Sperling, M.B. (1991). Parental attachment and emotional distress in the transition to College. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30(4), 427–411.
Berscheid, E. (1983). Emotion in close relationships. In H.H. Kelly, E. Berscheid, A. Christensen, J. Harvey, T. Huston, G. Levinger, E. McClintock, A. Peplau, & D. Peterson (Eds.), The Psychology of Close Relationships. W.H. Freeman: New York.
Booth-Butterfield, M. (1989). Perception of harassing communication as a function of locus of control, work force participation, and gender. 37 (4 Fall), 262–275.
Brown, B. & Perkins, D.D. (1992). Disruptions in place attachment. In I. Altman & S.M. Low (Eds.), Place Attachment.Plenum Press: New York and London; pp. 279–304.
Charles, N. & Davies, C.A. (2000). Cultural stereotypes and the gendering of senior management. The Sociological Review, 544–567.
Cutrona, C., Cole, V., Colangelo, N., Assouline, S.G., & Russell, D.W. (1994). Perceived parental social support and academic achievement: an attachment theory perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(2), 369–378.
Discenza, R., Ferguson, J.M., & Wisner, R. (1985). Marketing higher education: using a situation analysis to identify prospective student needs in today's competitive environment. NASPA, 22, 18–25.
Dixon, P.N. & Martin, N.K. (1991). Measuring factors that influence college choice. NASPA Journal, 29, 31–36.
Duttweiler, P.C. (1984). The Internal Control Index: a newly developed measure of locus of control. Educational and Psychological Measurements, 44, 209–221.
Elder, G.H., King, V., & Conger, R.D. (1996). Attachment to place and migration prospects: a developmental perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 6(4), 397–425.
Flanagan, C., Schulenberg, J., & Fuligni, A. (1993). Residential setting and parent-adolescent relationships during the college years. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 22(2), 171–189.
Forbes, G.B. & Adams-Curtis, L.E. (2000). Gender role typing and attachment to parents and peers. The Journal of Social Psychology, 140(2), 258–260.
Fuller, W., Manski, C., & Wise, D. (1982). New evidence on the economic determinants of postsecondary schooling choices. Journal of Human Resources, 17(4), 472–498.
Fullilove, M.T. (1996). Psychiatric implications of displacement: contributions from the psychology of place. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153(12), 1516–1522.
Gerson, K., Sueve, C.A., & Fischer, C.S. (1977). Attachment to place. In C.S. Fischer (Ed.), Networks and Places: Social Relations in the Urban Setting. New York: The Free Press.
Granqvist, P. & Hagekull, B. (2001). Seeking security in the new age: on attachment and emotional compensation. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(3), 527–545.
Hazan, C. & Zeifman, D. (1999). Pair bonds as attachments: evaluating the evidence. In J. Cassidy & P.R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications.New York: Guilford; pp. 336–355.
Heiss, G.E., Berman, W.H., & Sperling, M.B. (1996). Five scales in search of a construct: exploring continued attachment to parents in college students. Journal of Personality Assessment, 671, 102–115.
Hossler, D. & Gallgher, K.S. (1987). Studying student college choice: a three-phase model and the implications for policymakers. College and University, Spring, 207–221.
Jacobs, K.W. (1993). Psychometric properties of the Internal Control Index. Psychological Reports, 73, 251–255.
Kapalka, G.M. & Lachenmeyer, J.R. (1988). Sex-role flexibility, locus of control, and occupational status. Sex Roles, 19(7-8 Oct.), 417–427.
Larose, S. & Boivin, M. (1998). Social support expectations, and socioemotional adjustment during the high school-college transition. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 81, 1–27.
Low, S.M. & Altman, I. (1992). Place attachment: a conceptual inquiry. Human behavior and environment: advances in theory and research. 12, 1–12.
McBroom, W.H. (1985). The influence of parental status variables on the status aspirations of youth. Adolescence, 77, 115–127.
McDonough, P.M., Antonio, A.L., & Trent, J.W. (1997). Black students, black colleges: an African American college choice model. Journal for a Just and Caring Education, 1, 9–36.
Manski, C.F., Wise, D.A. (1983). College Choice in America. Cambridge, MA: Howard University Press.
Martin, N.K. & Dixon, P.N. (1991). Factors influencing students' college choice. Journal of College Student Development, 32, 253–257.
Meyers, L.S. & Wong, D.T. (1988). Validation of a new test of locus of control: the Internal Control Index. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 48, 753–761.
Murphy, P.E. (1981). Consumer buying roles in college choice. College and University, Winter, 141–150.
O'Koon, J. (1997). Attachment to parents and peers in late adolescence and their relationship with self image. Adolescence, 32(126), 471–482.
Peachey, P. (1981). The residential area bond. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Los Angeles, CA.
Proshansky, H.M. (1978). The city and self-identity. Environment and Behavior, 10(2), 147–169.
Rotter, J.B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1).
Rotter, J.B. (1990). Internal versus external control of reinforcement: a case history of a variable. American Psychologist, 45, 489–493.
Samuolis, J., Layburn, K., & Schiaffino, K.M. (2001). Identity development and attachment to parents in college students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30(3), 373–384.
Seppanen, L. (1988). Current Student Survey, Winter 1988. Washington Community Colleges Summary of Survey of Students in State-Supported Vocational and Academic Courses at Nine Representative Colleges. Washington State Board for Community College Education, Olympia Division for Informational Services, Research and Evaluation.
Sewell, W.H. & Hauser, R.M. (1975). Education, Occupation and Earnings: Achievement in Early Career. New York: Academic Press.
Shumaker, S.A. & Taylor, R.B. (1982). Toward a clarification of people-place relationships: a model of attachment to place.
Spence, D.S. (1981). Funding for Higher Education Enrollment Shifts in the 80s. Southern Regional Education Board, Atlanta, GA.
Stokols, D. & Shumaker, S.A. (1981). People in places: a transactional view of settings. In Harvey, J.H. (Ed.), Cognition Social Behavior, and the Environment. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Stokols, D. & Shumaker, S.A. (1982). The psychological context of residential mobility and wellbeing. Journal of Social Issues, 38(3), 149–171.
Strang, S.P. & Orlofsky, J.L. (1990). Factors underlying suicidal ideation among college students: a test of Teicher and Jacobs' model. Journal of Adolescence, 13(1), 39–52.
Sullivan, K. & Sullivan, A. (1980). Adolescent-parent separation. Developmental Psychology, 16, 93–99.
Thibaut, J.W. & Kelley, H.H. (1959). The Social Psychology of Groups.New York: Wiley.
Trice, A.D. (1985). An academic locus of control scale for college students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 61, 1043–1046.
Vobejda, B. (1991). Declarations of dependence: it's taking longer to become an adult. The Washington Post National Weekly Edition, Sept. 23-29, 9–10.
Weinfield, N.S., Sroufe, L.A., Egeland, B., & Carlson, E.A. (1999). The nature of individual differences in infant-caregiver attachment. In J. Cassidy & P.R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications, New York: Guilford; pp. 68–88.
Werner, C.M., Altman, I., & Oxley, D. (1985). Temporal aspects of homes: a transactional perspective. In I. Altman and C.M. Werner (Eds.), Home Environments. Human Behavior and Environment: Advances in Theory and Research, (Vol. 8). New York: Plenum; pp. 1–32.
White, M.J. (1985). Determinants of community satisfaction in Middletown. American Journal of Community Psychology, 13(5), 583–595.
Young, M.E.,Reyes, P. (1987). Conceptualizing enrollment behavior. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 17(3), 41–49.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shields, N. Understanding Place-bound Students: Correlates and Consequences of Limited Educational Opportunities. Social Psychology of Education 7, 353–376 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPOE.0000037503.31317.5c
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPOE.0000037503.31317.5c