Association between Negative Life Events on Mental Health and College Student Adjustment: A Mediated Moderating Effect

Objective: To explore the association between negative life events and college student adjustment and to explore the mediating and moderating effects of social support and grade level in the relationship between the two. Methods. The research was conducted with 1717 college students using the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC), China College Student Adjustment Scale (CCSAS), and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Results. (1) Negative life events were significantly negative in correlation with adjustment and social support (r = −0.373, −0.174, Ps < 0.001), while social support was significantly positive in correlation with adjustment (r = 0.359, P < 0.001 ). (2) The main effects of negative life events, social support, and grade on adjustment were significant (effect = −0.190, P < 0.001 , 95% CI [−0.288∼−0.092]; effect = 0.307, P < 0.001 , 95% CI [0.265∼0.348]; effect = 0.163, P < 0.001 , 95% CI [0.126∼0.200]). (3) In the relationship between negative life events and adjustment, social support played a mediating role (effect = −0.054, 95% CI [−0.071∼−0.037]) and grade level played a moderating role (effect = −0.049, P = 0.009 , 95% CI [−0.085∼−0.012]). Conclusion. Negative life events, social support, and grade level affected college student adjustment, and social support networks for college students should be actively constructed and targeted education should be conducted according to different grade levels, which can promote college student adjustment.

Commuter College Student Adjustment: Peer Crowd Affiliation as a Driver of Loneliness, Belongingness, and Risk Behaviors

Although previous research has clearly demonstrated the impact that peer crowd affiliation has on socioemotional and risk-related outcomes, very few studies have investigated this relation in samples of emerging adults, and even fewer have focused specifically on commuter college students. Accordingly, the current study aimed to fill this gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between peer crowds and college adjustment at a commuter school. Participants were 663 students at a large public university in Southern California (campus population of 92% commuters). Factor analytic results indicated the presence of four crowd dimensions on campus: (a) social/partiers, (b) creatives and activists, (c) campus active, and (d) international students. Furthermore, path analysis results indicated that these crowd dimensions predict loneliness, college belongingness, and risk behaviors. Overall, the results of this study indicate the presence of a peer crowd landscape unique to commuter schools that has important implications for student adjustment.

Development and Evaluation of the Inventory of New College Student Adjustment

The Inventory of New College Student Adjustment (INCA) was developed to assist college student personnel in assessing adjustment difficulties experienced by first-year college students. A sample of 474 first-year college students (282 women, 59%; 192 men, 41%) enrolled in a first-year seminar course at a medium-sized 4-year university in the central southern region of the United States completed the INCA. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a two-factor scale explaining 47.17% of the variance in scores. Convergent validity analyses support the INCA as a sufficiently valid measure suitable for use as a brief screening tool in both research and practice settings.