College is a time for gaining knowledge about the world and becoming a critical thinker, right? I’m not so sure if this is what students today first think of when it comes to college. This is the time in their lives to create lifelong friendships, go to parties, and at the end of it earn a degree that is supposed to give you access to higher paying jobs.
Higher education can be seen as a gatekeeper to success and fortune in the future… well sort of. It has become more critical for people to receive some kind of education after high school to make a sufficient living in the current economy. So, now more people are going to college, receiving an education that will hopefully be beneficial to their futures.
Each fall a new group of students begin their college careers. Some people feel ready for new and challenging classes, some are ready to go out and party, while others are prepared for both. Then there is the group of individuals who have a hard time adjusting to this new environment. They are homesick, missing their parents and the friends that they left behind. For these students the transition to college can be very lonely and can ultimately leave them feeling depressed. Some students are fortunate enough to have a smooth transition from high school to college but there are others who struggle. But why is this so?
There was a study conducted in Canada that attempts to understand the differences in acclamation to college life. These researchers Ames et al. (2011) believed that there are different ways people cope with this transition. Specifically, they focused on the impact attachment styles can have during this time period. Attachment styles are based on our need as human beings to form close relationships with others, which are rooted in our close bonds with our caretakers. In this research they used a specific model of attachment first used by Batholomew.
*In his model he distinguishes four types of attachment:
*In his model he distinguishes four types of attachment:
1.Secure: This person is comfortable forming close relationships, has positive views about themselves and others, and is self-confident.
2.Preoccupied: This person lacks self-confidence and try to validate themselves by being overly dependent of others. When they don’t get the intimacy they need than they become distressed.
3.Fearful: This person also depends on others for validation. This person is afraid of rejection so they don’t form close relationships.
4. Dismissing: This person has a positive outlook on themselves and others. They also are independent and self-reliant. They dismiss any support or advise and do not form close relationships.
The researchers’ goal was to assess a facilitation program on the transition to college using this model. They surveyed students to find out their specific attachment styles and then proceeded to follow the students’ participation in this program over nine weeks and examined the effectiveness of the program after its completion as well as months later.
The results of this research showed that people’s reactions to the program were consistent with their attachment style. Secure individuals had positive feelings about the program while dismissing individuals had negative views about the program and attended fewer groups. This makes sense because secure individuals enjoy being around others and are generally positive while dismissive individuals don’t really like people telling them what to do.
The focus of this research was more geared towards measuring the success of this facilitation program rather than trying to understand the impact attachment styles have during the transition to college. They found that some attachment styles are more receptive this type of program but do not address the factors that impact anxiety and worry about the transition to college. The effectiveness of the program must then be dependent on the attachment styles of the participants. Although there was some good insight from this study, it could have gone further and evaluated more than just the responses to the program by asking participants questions about their adjustment to college.
This research tried to tackle some questions about the college transition process but doesn’t try to understand the root of the problem. It would be helpful to know why people differ in these kinds of circumstances. This just shows that more research is necessary.
Here are some questions I would like answered about the topic:
Here are some questions I would like answered about the topic:
1. Why do some people feel more homesick than others?
2. Does the size of the institution have an effect on adjustment?
3. Is the distance from home a factor?
4. Is going to a school where you know no one a factor?
I have so many more questions but I’ll just leave it at this. I think having the answers to these questions would be beneficial for understanding the differences among college freshmen. Programs, like the one examined by the researchers, could be formed to help students who are having some difficulty adjusting to college.
College is a wonderful experience and it would be sad for someone to leave or not consider going because they fear leaving their families or forming new relationships. Higher education has become a necessity in this economy so if a person does not attend it could be detrimental to their future.
~Adriana Lara~
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