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The Unfolding of Student Adjustment During the First Semester of College

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Abstract

College sense of belonging and well-being constitute critical components of college student adjustment and success. Previous studies have generally measured these outcomes at one (or sometimes two) points in time, which prevents researchers from understanding the ongoing adjustment process as well as the dynamic interplay between college experiences and outcomes. This study provides unique insights by examining week-by-week data that consisted of 12,529 total responses from 882 undergraduates during their first semester of college. Fixed-effects regression analyses were used to examine the extent to which weekly changes in students’ experiences and interpersonal relationships predicted corresponding changes in adjustment outcomes. Social connection, relationship satisfaction with college friends, and feeling successful in class were most strongly related to changes in belonging and well-being. Some experiences that are often overlooked in higher education research were also significant predictors; specifically, time spent exercising and relationship satisfaction with parents were associated with more favorable outcomes, whereas extensive social media use was associated with poorer outcomes. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research on Undergraduate Education, University of Iowa, N438A Lindquist Center, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Nicholas A. Bowman, Lindsay Jarratt & Nayoung Jang

  2. Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Timothy J. Bono

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  1. Nicholas A. Bowman
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  2. Lindsay Jarratt
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Correspondence to Nicholas A. Bowman.

Appendix

Appendix

Descriptive statistics for all variables

Variable

Mean

SD

Min

Max

Skipped class (once)

0.19

0.39

0

1

Skipped class (2 or more times)

0.20

0.40

0

1

Visited professor (once)

0.19

0.39

0

1

Visited professor (2 or more times)

0.08

0.27

0

1

Time spent exercising (square root)

1.61

1.06

0

7.35

Extracurricular involvement (less than 5 hours)

0.39

0.50

0

1

Extracurricular involvement (5 or more hours)

0.31

0.46

0

1

Time spent studying (square root)

1.86

0.48

0

4.80

Social media (1–1.99 hours/day)

0.47

0.50

0

1

Social media (2–3.99 hours/day)

0.29

0.45

0

1

Social media (4 or more hours/day)

0.05

0.21

0

1

Average time sleeping

7.03

1.10

0

15

Felt academically productive

4.46

1.40

0

7.50

Felt successful in class

3.78

1.41

0

6

Home friend satisfaction

4.24

1.41

0

6

Resident assistant satisfaction

4.46

1.34

0

6

Parent satisfaction

4.89

1.24

0

6

Roommate satisfaction

4.52

1.55

0

6

College friend satisfaction

4.82

1.22

0

6

Social connectedness

5.45

1.44

0

7.50

College sense of belonging

4.64

1.09

0

6

Positive emotional well-being

4.29

1.17

0

6

Negative emotional well-being

2.12

1.20

0

6

  1. Note All non-binary variables were subsequently standardized with a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one for inclusion in the fixed-effects regression analyses

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Bowman, N.A., Jarratt, L., Jang, N. et al. The Unfolding of Student Adjustment During the First Semester of College. Res High Educ 60, 273–292 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-018-9535-x

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