Changes in Psychological Adjustment of Female Students During the First Year of Study: Analysis of Defense Mechanisms

Abstract

The beginning of a study represents for freshmen a dif�icult period of adjustment. Observations obtained in student counseling centers as well as in investigations of students' adjustment indicate that the beginning of a study represents for students a speci�ic crisis period determined by dealing with the experiences of 'psychological separation'. Therefore, the aim of the investigation was to prove the existence of a crisis period at the beginning of a study by investigating the change of students' psychological adjustment and their use of defense mechanisms during their �irst year of study. In regard to this aim the task of the investigation was to examine I.the signi�icance of differences in the level of psychological adjustment and defense mechanisms at the beginning and the end of the �irst year of study, and also II. the contribution and correlation of defense mechanisms to psychological adjustment.In this investigation were involved female freshmen (N=80) at the Department of Educational Sciences at the University Juraj Dobrila in Pula (Croatia).The obtained results con�irm the existence of a crisis period at the beginning of a study.i. In the investigation a signi�icant lower level of self-esteem and also a signi�icant higher level of the use of defense mechanisms were obtained at the beginning than at the end of the �irst year of study. Also ii. In these different self-esteems, during the �irst year of study, different defense mechanisms had signi�icant contribution. So at the beginning (in lower level of self esteem) a signi�icant contribution had lower mechanisms, such as projection while at the end of the �irst year of study (in higher level of self esteem) a signi�icant contribution had higher defense mechanisms such as reactive formations.iii. In the analysis of correlations among defense mechanisms and different levels of self-esteem the same results have been obtained so that at the beginning, signi�i-cantly negative correlations had lower mechanisms, such as projection, regression and compensation, while at the end of the �irst year of study, excluding projection as lower mechanism, higher mechanisms had signi�icant correlations, such as reaction formation and repression.These results contributed to the understanding speci�icities of initial studying and to developing appropriate psychological approaches in student counseling centers.