The role of family structure and parenting in first year university adjustment

Abstract

The first year of university creates new experiences and challenges for first years and lays the foundation for the subsequent years of study. This first year has implications for academic development, mental health, and well-being of students and subsequently student retention. The majority of South African university students stay within their familial home unlike their international counterparts. The family may therefore play a contributory role in adjustment to university but this role is somewhat unclear. The current study therefore aimed to establish the associations between university adjustments of first year students, family structure, and parenting. The study employed a cross-sectional design, with a sample of 556 first year undergraduate students at a South African university. The data were collected using an electronic self-administered questionnaire on a secure online platform using the Perceived Parental Autonomy Support Scale and the College Adaptation Questionnaire. Data analysis included hierarchical regression analyses and one-way analyses of variance to determine and compare the relationships between the variables. The results suggest that students from two-parent families were more adjusted than those from one-parent families. Autonomy-supportive parenting predicted positive university adjustment for the total sample, but only maternal autonomy-supportive parenting predicted good adjustment for students in two-parent families. This study highlights the potential role parents and families may play in the adjustment of first year students to university. This is particularly relevant in South Africa where many students are first-generation students, are challenged in transitioning to university, and this may have subsequent mental health–related challenges.

Emotion regulation, academic buoyancy, and academic adjustment of university students within a self-determination theory framework: A systematic review

“…In addition, motivation variables, i.e., autonomous motivation (Miquelon et al, 2005 ; Bailey and Phillips, 2015 ; Willems et al, 2021 ), self-oriented perfectionism (Miquelon et al, 2005 ), self-efficacy, and learning strategies (Willems et al, 2021 ), as well as basic psychological needs satisfaction were also found to be associated with students' academic adjustment (Carr et al, 2013 ; Vergara-Morales and Del Valle, 2021 ). In terms of family factors, parental autonomy support (Daniels et al, 2019 ), parental involvement (Smojver-Ajic et al, 2015 ), and attachment styles were significantly linked to attachment security (positive relationship with the insecurity dimension) (Carr et al, 2013 ).…”

Systematic Review: A Study of College Adjustment Among First-Year Undergraduates

“…Of the 18 studies reviewed, eight of these used a longitudinal design (Fernández et al, 2017;Heffer & Willoughby, 2017;Holt, 2014;Lindell et al, 2020;Meng et al, 2014;Nightingale et al, 2013;Park et al, 2011;Ranney & Troop-Gordon, 2012), and ten studies applied cross-sectional design (Bishop et al, 2019;Chevrier et al, 2020;Daniels et al, 2018;Katz & Somers, 2015;Lau et al, 2018;Morton et al, 2013;Nguyen et al, 2019;Rahat & ˙Ilhan, 2016;Rodrıguez et al, 2017;van Rooij et al, 2017).…”

“…To date, studies on college adjustment among first-year undergraduates are able to describe the adjustment process during the first year of college. Ten studies applied theoretical frameworks such as Attachment Theory (Bishop et al, 2019;Lindell et al, 2020), Self-determination Theory (Daniels et al, 2018;Nguyen et al, 2019), The transactional theory of coping (Heffer & Willoughby, 2017), Theory of Emerging Adulthood (Lindell et al, 2020); Self-efficacy (Meng et al, 2014), Social Compensation Theories (Ranney & Troop-Gordon, 2012), Tinto's Student Departure Theory (Rodrıguez et al, 2017), Tinto's Theory of Student Attrition (van Rooij et al, 2017. While the other eight studies (Fernández et al, 2017;Holt, 2014;Lau et al, 2018;Morton et al, 2013;Nightingale et al, 2013;Park et al, 2011;Rahat & ˙Ilhan, 2016;Ranney & Troop-Gordon, 2012) did not explicitly state the application of a particular theoretical framework to their study.…”

“…In the Netherlands, 33% of first-year undergraduates did not continue into their second year (van Rooij et al, 2017). In South Africa, the dropout rate for first-year undergraduates averaged 50% (Daniels et al, 2018). Whereas in Spain, more than 50% of university students failed to finish their education and most (26%) left during their first year (Fernández et al, 2017;Rodrıguez et al, 2017).…”

First Year Students’ Social-Psychological Adaptation To Higher Education Requirements Factor Analysis

“…American scientists believe that for most students adaptation in higher education institution is stressful experience, maladjustment is common among students with avoidant behavior and coping strategy (Dyson & Renk, 2006). Daniels, Davids, and Roman (2018) believe that successful socialpsychological adaptation is the basis for further successful education, mental health and students' wellbeing. According to the results of the study, family plays a leading role in helping students to adapt.…”