Adjusting to college—Do ability beliefs and confidence in getting support matter for performance and mental health?

• Published in: Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 123 - 146
• Main Authors: von Keyserlingk, Luise, Moeller, Julia, Heckhausen, Jutta, Eccles, Jacquelynne S., Arum, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiesbaden Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 01.02.2024
• Subjects: Education; Educational Policy and Politics; Pedagogic Psychology; Schwerpunkt; Sociology of Education; Ability beliefs; College adjustment; Performance; Mental health; Social support
• ISSN: 1434-663X; 1862-5215
• DOI: 10.1007/s11618-023-01185-5

Entering college, students are required to adjust to a new academic and social environment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social interactions with peers and faculty were limited to online settings and access to campus resources was restricted. Hence, students who entered college in fall 2020 began their freshman year under particularly challenging circumstances. We used data from two freshman cohorts, who started college either before or during the pandemic. We investigated to what extent mid-quarter academic and social adjustment (i.e., ability beliefs and confidence in getting support) predicted end-of-quarter performance, psychological distress, and satisfaction of freshman students. Results showed that students who started college during the pandemic were less confident they could get support by peers in the middle of their first quarter. Furthermore, students from the second cohort reported higher psychological distress and lower satisfaction with their adjustment at the end of their first quarter. Results showed that ability beliefs played an important role for end-of-quarter performance, whereas confidence in getting support was more relevant for psychological well-being outcomes in both cohorts.