Gender Effects on Adjustment among Freshmen in One Selected Public University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23918/ijsses.v9i3p16Keywords:
Gender Effect, Adjustment, Freshmen, Public UniversityAbstract
The study examined gender effects on adjustment among freshmen in one public university in Kenya. The Cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. The participants comprised of 213 freshmen. The Adjustment Questionnaire was used to measure the adjustment levels of the freshmen. The reliability of Adjustment Questionnaire was ascertained by internal consistency method. The independent-samples t-test was used to test the research hypotheses. The results reported no gender effect on academic adjustment among freshmen [t (211) = -1.639, p =.103]; no gender effect on emotional adjustment [t (211) = 0.268, p=.789]. There was a significant difference in emotional adjustment scores [t (211) = -3.526, p =.001] and on social adjustment scores [t (211) = -3.914, p < 0.05] between the two gender. The study recommends that the university counseling center should develop more gender specific orientation programmes to assist the female freshmen.
References
Abdullah, M.C., Elias, H., Mahyddin, R., & Uli, J. (2009). Adjustment amongst first year students in a Malaysian university. European Journal of Social Sciences, 8(3), 496-505.
Akande, J.A., & Ikediashi, N.N. (2018). Level of emotional adjustment of secondary school students in the Federal Capital Territory. Quest Journals Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science, 6(8), 50-55.
Al-Khati, B.A., Awamleh, H.S., & Samawi, F.S. (2012). Student’s adjustment to college life at Albalqa Applied University. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 2(11), 7-16.
Al-Qaisy, L.M. (2010). Adjustment of college freshmen: The importance of gender and the place of residence. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 2(1), 142-150.
Bernier, A., Larose, S., & Whipple, N. (2005). Leaving home for college: A potentially stressful event for adolescents with preoccupied attachment patterns. Attachment and Human Development, 7(2), 171−185.
Bhagat, P. (2016). Comparative study of adjustment among secondary school boys and girls. International Journal of Applied Research, 2(7), 91-95
Chauhan, V. (2013). A study on adjustment of higher secondary school students of Durg district. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education (IOSR-JRME), 1(1), 50-52. https://doi.org/10.9790/7388-0115052
Clinciu, A.I. (2012). Adaptation and stress for the first year university students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 78, 718-722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.382
Clinciu, A. I., & Cazan, A.M. (2013). Academic adjustment questionnaire for the university students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 127,655-660.
Connelly, L.M. (2016). Cross-sectional survey research.” MedSurg Nursing, 25(5), 369+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A470159876/AONE?u=anon~5fc19e07&sid=googleScholar&xid=93aae59e. Accessed 8 Mar. 2022.
Devika, R. A. (2014). Comparative study of the adjustment of secondary school students. I-Manager’s Journal on Educational Psychology, 7(3), 18-22.
De Waal, E., Pienaar, A.E., & Coetzee, D. (2018). Gender differences in academic achievement of children with developmental coordination disorder. South African Journal of Childhood Education 8(1), a515. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v8i1.515
Dyson, R., & Renk, K. (2006). Freshmen adaptation to university life: Depressive symptoms, stress, and coping. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(10), 1231-1244.
Eccles, J.S., & Midgley, C. (1989). Stage–environment fit: Developmentally appropriate classrooms for young adolescents. In C. Ames & R. Ames (Eds.), Research on motivation in education: Vol. 3. Goals and cognitions (pp. 13–44). New York: Academic Press.
Eccles, J.S., Lord, S., & Roeser, R.W. (1996). Round holes, square pegs, rocky roads, and sore feet: A discussion of stage–environment fit theory applied to families and school. In D. Cicchetti & S. L. Toth (Eds.), Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology: Vol. 7. Adolescence: Opportunities and challenges (pp. 47–92). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
Enochs, W.K., & Roland, C.B. (2006). Social adjustment of college freshmen: The importance of gender and living environment. College Student Journal, 40(1), 63-72.
Feldt, R.C., Graham, M., & Dew, D. (2011). Measuring adjustment to college: Construct validity of the student adaptation to college questionnaire. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 44(2), 92-104.
Gerdes, H., & Mallinckrodt, B. (1994). Emotional, social, and academic adjustment of college students: a longitudinal study of retention. Journal of Counseling & Development, 72(3), 281-288
Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (2000). Statistics for the behavioral sciences, 5th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth – Thomson Learning
Gutman, L.M., & Eccles, J.S. (2007). Stage-environment fit during adolescence: Trajectories of family relations and adolescent outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 43(2), 522-537. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.2.522
Inman, M. (2017). Behind the stigma: The impact of gender and college adjustment on attitudes towards mental health disorders. Honors Theses. 116. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/uhp_theses/116
Joymalya, P., Saha, B., & Mondal, B.C. (2014). Adjustment of Secondary School Students with Respect to Gender and Residence. American Journal of Educational Research 2.12 (2014): 1138-1143.
Kommers, P., Junco, R., & Hills, P. (2011). Social media for learning by means of ICT. UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, UNESCO Moscow
Krejcie, R.V., & Morgan, D.W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607–610.
Kyalo, P.M. (2011). Selected factors influencing social and academic adjustment of undergraduate students of Egerton University; Njoro campus. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(18), 274 – 290.
Lippa, R. (1995). Gender-related individual differences and psychological adjustment in terms of the Big Five and circumplex models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(6), 1184-1202. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.6.1184
Makwana, M.D., & Kaji, S.M. (2014). Adjustment of secondary school students in relation to their gender. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 2(1), 5-12.
Malinga-Musamba, T. (2014). First-year course experience and college adjustment: A case study. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 24(3), 278–280.
Mann, J.L. (2018). Role of resilience and related coping in the adjustment of first year psychology students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus [Unpublished Master of Social Science Thesis, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa].
Mtshweni, B.V. (2021). Adjustment and socioeconomic status: how do these factors influence the intention to dropout of university? South African Journal of Psychology, (00)0, 1–13December 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463211059141
Molnar, D. (1993). The impact of mission effectiveness on student retention. Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Chicago, Il. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 360940).
Muuss, R. E. (1996). Theories of Adolescence. (6th Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.
Nidhi, M., & Kermane, M. (2015). Adjustment problems of college students in relation to gender, socioeconomic status and academic achievement. International Journal of Current Research, 7(04), 14574-14578.
Olasupo, M.O., Idemudia, E.S., & Dimatkakso, M. (2018). Adjustment, Psychological Well-being and Mental Health of First Year Students in a South African University. North American Journal of Psychology, 20(1), 55-62.
Olawole, O.A., & Adesokan, A. (2021). Gender differences on the academic adjustment of students in the faculty of education in Kwara State University, Malete. Gender & Behaviour, 19(2), 18159-18164. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-genbeh_v19_n2_a46
Osoro, G., Nyamwange, C., & Obuba, E. (2020). Variability of academic adjustment of first years among public Kenyan universities. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 5(8), 1456- 1467. https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt20aug707
Oyefeso, A.O., & Adegoke, A.R. (1992). Psychological adjustment of Yoruba adolescents as influenced by family type: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33(4), 785-788.
Panth, M.K., Chaurasia, N., & Gupta, M.A. (2015). Comparative study of adjustment and emotional maturity between gender and stream of undergraduate students. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities (IJRSSH), 5(III), 1-12.
Peleg-Oren, N., Sherer, M., & Soskolne, V. (2003). Effect of gender on the social and psychological adjustment of cancer patients. Social Work in Health Care, 37(3), 17-34.
Petersen, H. (2006). Psychosocial factors and academic performance among first-year financial aid students: Testing adjustment as a mediator variable [Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Cape Town].
Punch, F.K. (2010). Introduction to social research quantitative approaches (2nd Edition). New Delhi: Sage Publications Ltd.
Reddy, K. J., Menon, K.R., & Thattil, A. (2018). Academic Stress and its sources among university students. Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal, 11, 531-537. https://doi.org/10.13005/bpj/1404.
Rice, K.G. (2009). Separation-individuation and adjustment to college, A longitudinal study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 39, 203-213. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.39.2.203
Rienties, B., Beausaert, S., Grohnert, T., Niemantsverdriet, S., & Kommers, P. (2011). Understanding academic performance of international students: The role of ethnicity, academic and social integration. Higher Education Quarterly, 63, 685- 700.
Robinson, J. (2009). International students and American university culture: Adjustment Issues. Paper presented at the meeting of the Washington Area Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Annual Convention, Arlington, VA.
Salami, S.O. (2011). Psychosocial predictors of adjustment among first-year college of education students. US-China Education Review, 8(2), 239–248.
Sanoff, A. P. (2006). A perception gap over students’ preparation. Chronicle of Higher Education, 52(27), B9-B14.
Schultz, B.R. (2008). A descriptive study of freshmen adjustment to college at the University of Alaska. https://gradworks.umi.com/33/38/3338012.html.
Siah, P.C., & Tan, S.H. (2015). Motivational orientation, perceived stress and university adjustment among first year undergraduates in Malaysia. Journal of Institutional Research South East Asia, 13(1), 19-29.
Tarekegn, D. F. (2018). Parenting style and first year students’ adjustment at university: Mediation via trait emotional intelligence in higher education institutions- a dimensional and typological approach [Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of South Africa].
Wangeri, T., Kimani, E., & Mutweleli, S.M. (2012). Transitional challenges facing university first year students in Kenyan public universities: A Case of Kenyatta University. Interdisciplinary Review of Economics and Management, 2(1), 41-50.
Wang, Q., & Zhang, Q. (2015). An investigation of psychological adjustment differences among Chinese college students: From the perspectives of their gender, major and grade. Psychology, 6, 2119-2124. https://dx.doi.org/10.4236/psych.2015.616208
Winga, M.A., Agak, J.O., & Ayere, B. (2011). The relationship among school adjustment, gender and academic achievement amongst secondary school students in Kisumu district Kenya. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 2(6), 493 – 497.
Yau, H.K., & Cheng, F.A. (2014). An empirical study into gender differences in the relationships among academic, social and psychological adjustments of university support. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 38(2), 268-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2012.722197
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational StudiesInternational Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies applies the
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic Licence (CC BY-NC 2.0)