The proposed project uses the transition to college to investigate risk and protective factors for adjustment to college during emerging adulthood. This proposal represents several advances on the current literature. It uses a multimethod approach to assess insider and outsider perspectives on family functioning and adjustment. It extends family systems theory by reconceptualizing whole-family dynamics to include family changes in salivary cortisol during family interaction. The project's longitudinal design allows for the assessment of change in perception of family dynamics across a yearlong transitional period, and includes both pre- and post-transition assessments. The proposed project focuses on three domains of adjustment critical to emerging adults;academic, social, and emotional adjustment. One hundred and twenty prospective first-year college students between 17 and 19 years of age who have never attended college before will be assessed at three time points before and during their first college year. During a pre- college assessment all participants and their parents will complete self-report measures and participate in two videotaped family interaction tasks. We will sample cortisol before, directly after, and 30-minutes after family members work together to build a house of cards. During fall and spring semester assessments participants will fill out self- report measures. Adaptive whole-family functioning, including family cortisol response, is predicted to protect emerging adults from adjustment problems leading to depression, loneliness, stress, academic failure, substance abuse and other risky behavior. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed project uses the transition to college to investigate risk and protective factors for adjustment to college during emerging adulthood. Adaptive whole-family functioning, including family cortical response, is predicted to protect emerging adults from adjustment problems that can lead to depression, loneliness, stress, academic failure, substance abuse and other risky behavior.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter