Basic Need Satisfaction Intervention for Mainland Chinese International Students’ Adjustment to College

With an increasing number of students pursuing their tertiary studies overseas, ways to improve their adaptation into a new environment become of the utmost importance. By applying self-determination theory, the current research investigated the extent that a basic psychological need intervention can increase need-satisfying experiences and promote the adjustment of Mainland Chinese international students to college. In total, 55 participants were randomly assigned to an intervention or control condition. They completed questionnaires on basic need satisfaction and college adjustment before the start of the study, right after the completion of the intervention, and after a 5-week follow-up. Participants who received the intervention had significantly higher need satisfaction and adjustment to college than those in the control condition. The intervention effect was maintained after a 5-week delay. In addition, the results showed that the increases in psychological need satisfaction after the intervention predicted higher levels of students’ adjustment to college. Theoretical implications for the universality of basic need satisfaction to students’ well-being and practical implications for international education are discussed.

Predicting University Adjustment from Coping-Styles, Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Personality: Findings from a Survey in a Sample of Italian Students

Starting university life requires that students learn to cope with several personal, academic, and social challenges. A wide array of variables affects how students adjust to university life. This study was aimed to investigate which factors among coping styles, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and personality traits (i.e., diligence, relational availability, mental flexibility, activity, and emotional stability) best predicted the levels of university adjustment in a sample of university freshmen (N = 204, 63% women). Data were collected using self-report instruments. Multiple regressions analyses were conducted to identify the most significant predictors of adjustment to college. Our findings reported that self-efficacy, task-, and emotion-oriented coping were the most significant predictors, together with relational availability and mental flexibility. These findings might improve the growing knowledge concerning university adjustment, supporting main previous research. The observed relationships between university adjustment and the measured variables suggest intriguing considerations about the importance for schools and universities of providing interventions for students that aim to develop and strengthen the investigated personality facets, reducing withdrawal, behavioral and/or mental disengagement, and promoting academic achievement and success.

Comparison of First-Year International Students' Adjustment to College at the Undergraduate and Graduate Level

Predictors of first-year undergraduate and graduate international students’ adjustment to college were examined using an online survey in 2019. The research sample consisted of 95 international students attending two universities in the United States. Findings showed a statistically significant difference between first-year graduate and undergraduate international students, as related to college adjustment. Further analysis discovered significant relationships among the predictor variables - resilience, relational skills, acculturative stress - and the criterion variable, which is adjustment to college, explaining 55% of the variance. Implications of findings for educators, college counselors, and college administrators, are provided, as well as directions for future research.