Using culture to manage the transition into university: Conceptualising the dynamics of withdrawal and engagement

Abstract

This conceptual paper explored the purposes of using culture in the process of coping with stress by looking how first-year undergraduate students used cultural elements and activities to aid their transition into university. Results supported two key conceptualisations of the use of culture. First, results indicated that students used culture either for withdrawal purposes, that is, for escaping from the stressful situation, or for engagement purposes, that is, for actively engaging with the stressful situation. Second, the results suggested three different forms of using culture to engage with stressful situations: mood management, learning and personal interaction. While the results of the study resonate with the distinction between avoidance versus approachoriented coping strategies that are widely explored in the stress and coping literature, they also suggest that the relationship between withdrawal and engagement might be dynamic with those two strategies serving distinct purposes in the process of coping with stress. This paper thus suggests that there is a need to develop process-oriented models of coping that would allow identifying patterns in the way people fluctuate between withdrawal and engagement that support and facilitate their personal growth and development.

Health literacy: exploring disparities among college students

“…Going through such developmental transition brings about milestone changes in college students’ lives. According to the literature, college students worldwide experience high levels of psychological distress [9–11] that exceed the levels experienced by nonstudents [12]. There are many factors, such as individual differences and environmental influences, that make someone’s experience with the transition process different [13].…”

The role of “responsiveness” within the self in transitions to university

“…In order to answer the main question of this article: ''How does a person use cultural elements to cope with stress?,'' we use, as a starting point, the study of Ma¨rtsin, Chang, and Obst's (2016) that provides a methodological and conceptual link between the traditional transactional model about coping with stress into university and the Semiotic Cultural Psychology. Yet, the paper shows a gap in how researchers address the problem of coping with stress due to the use of dichotomous response patterns: problem-focused coping strategies and emotion-focused coping strategies.…”

“…We argue that the conceptual tools provided by this study will be further developed by taking into the account the role of ambivalence and responsiveness 3 in the process of coping with stress in transitional phases. Ma¨rtsin et al (2016) discuss the role of cultural resource in the process of coping with stress, by examining, through a quantitative study, how first year undergraduate students used cultural elements and activities to aid their transition into university. The justification of the study is based on an understanding that young people entering university tackle important changes, such as a new social life, changes related to academic achievement, and other adjustments.…”

“…By starting from the vast literature on coping (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985), Ma¨rtsin et al (2016) explain the differences between the strategies used to face stressful situations based on the model of problem-focused coping strategies, in which efforts are directed toward the problem that causes stress (e.g. confrontation, seeking social support, planned problem solving), and emotion-focused coping strategies, in which their efforts are directed toward managing the emotions arising from stress (e.g.…”

“…According to Ma¨rtsin et al (2016), both ways of using culture identified in their research, that is, ''withdrawal'' and ''engagement,'' were conscious efforts to cope with the situation. This idea of using consciousness to deal with cultural elements in transition is aligned with Zittoun's (2006) perspective.…”