Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T06:38:36.089Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Managing the Transition: The Role of Optimism and Self-Efficacy for First-Year Australian University Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2013

Stephen Morton ,
Amanda Mergler  and
Peter Boman
Stephen Morton
Affiliation:
St Eugene College, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Amanda Mergler*
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Peter Boman
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Dr Amanda Mergler, Lecturer of Educational Psychology, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove QLD 4059, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Students making the transition from high school to university often encounter many stressors and new experiences. Many students adjust successfully to university; however, some students do not, often resulting in attrition from the university and mental health issues. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the effects that optimism, self-efficacy, depression, and anxiety have on an individual's life stress and adaptation to university. Eighty-four first-year, full-time students from the Queensland University of Technology (60 female, 24 male) who had entered university straight from high school completed the study. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing their levels of optimism, self-efficacy, depression, anxiety, perceived level of life stress and adaptation to university. In line with predictions, results showed that optimism, depression, and anxiety each had a significant relationship with students’ perceived level of stress. Furthermore, self-efficacy and depression had a significant relationship with adaptation to university. We conclude that students with high levels of optimism and low levels of depression and anxiety will adapt better when making the transition from high school to university. In addition, students with high levels of self-efficacy and low levels of depression will experience less life stress in their commencement year of university. The implications of this study are outlined.

Keywords

optimismhigher educationtransitionadaptationlife stressmental health
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , June 2014 , pp. 90 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahrens, A.H., & Haaga, D.A.F. (1993). The specificity of attributional style and expectations to positive and negative affectivity, depression, and anxiety. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 17, 83–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersson, G. (1996). The benefits of optimism: A meta-analytic review of the life orientation test. Personality and Individual Differences, 21, 719–725.Google Scholar
Aspinwall, L.G., & Taylor, S.E. (1992). Modeling cognitive adaptation: A longitudinal investigation of the impact of individual differences and coping on college adjustment and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 989–1003.Google Scholar
Attewell, P., & Lavin, D.E. (with Domina, T., & Levey, T.). (2007). Passing the torch: Does higher education for the disadvantaged pay off across the generations? New York: Russell Sage.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavior change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In Ramachaudran, V.S. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71–81). New York: Academic Press. (Reprinted in Friedman, H. [Ed.], Encyclopedia of mental health. San Diego: Academic Press, 1998).Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman.Google Scholar
Belfield, C., & Bailey, T. (2011). The benefits of attending community college: A review of the evidence. Community College Review, 39 (1), 46–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bewick, B., Koutsopoulou, G., Miles, J., Slaa, E., & Barkham, M. (2010). Changes in undergraduate students’ psychological well-being as they progress through university. Studies in Higher Education, 35, 633–645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bitsika, V., Sharpley, C.F., & Holmes, V. (2010). Evaluation of the Revised Effects of University Study on Lifestyle Questionnaire (R-EUSLQ) upon students’ anxiety and depression. Journal of Student Wellbeing, 4 (1), 35–48.Google Scholar
Bitsika, V., Sharpley, C.F., & Rubenstein, V. (2010). What stresses university students: An interview investigation of the demands of tertiary studies. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 20 (1), 41–54.Google Scholar
Boman, P., & Yates, G.C.R. (2001). Optimism, hostility, and adjustment in the first-year of high school. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 401–411.Google Scholar
Brooks, J.H., & Dubois, D.L. (1995). Individual and environmental predictors of adjustment during the first year of college. Journal of College Student Development, 36, 347–360.Google Scholar
Cantor, M., Norem, J.K., Niedenrhal, P.M., Langston, C.A., & Brower, A.M. (1987). Life tasks, self-concept ideals, and cognitive strategies in a life transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 1178–1191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carmichael, C., & Taylor, J.A. (2005). Analysis of student beliefs in a tertiary preparatory mathematics course. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 36 (7), 713–719.Google Scholar
Chemers, M.M., Hu, L., & Garcia, B.F. (2001). Academic self-efficacy and first-year college student performance and adjustment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 55–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conway, V.J., & Terry, D.J. (1992). Appraised controllability as a moderator of the effectiveness of different coping strategies: A test of the goodness-of-fit hypothesis. Australian Journal of Psychology, 44, 1–7.Google Scholar
Crombag, H.F.M. (1968). Studiemotivatie en studieattitude. Groningen: Wolters.Google Scholar
Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. (2012). Higher Education Attrition Rates 2001–2010. Retrieved May 16, 2013, from http://www.innovation.gov.au/HIGHEREDUCATION/HigherEducationStatistics/11Appendix4AttritionSuccessRetentionRate.xls.Google Scholar
Ehrenberg, M.F., Cox, D.N., & Koopman, R. (1991). The relationship between self-efficacy and depression in high school students. Adolescence, 26, 361–374.Google Scholar
Endler, N.S., & Parker, J.D.A. (1990). Multidimensional assessment of coping: A critical evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 844–854.Google Scholar
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G∗Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 175–191.Google Scholar
Forsythe, S., & Compas, B.F. (1987). Interaction of cognitive appraisals of stressful events and coping: Testing the goodness-of-fit hypothesis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 11, 473–485.Google Scholar
Gadzella, B.M. (1991). Student-life Stress Inventory. Commerce, TX: Author.Google Scholar
Gadzella, B.M., & Baloglu, M. (2001). Confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency of the Student-life Stress Inventory. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 28, 84–94.Google Scholar
Galatzer-Levy, I.R., Burton, C.L., & Bonanno, G.A. (2012). Coping flexibility, potentially traumatic life events, and resilience: A prospective study of college student adjustment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 31 (6), 542–567.Google Scholar
Gerdes, H., & Mallinckrodt, B. (1994). Emotional, social and academic adjustment of college students: A longitudinal study of retention. Journal of Counseling & Development, 72, 281–288.Google Scholar
Ghaderi, A.R., & Rengaiah, B. (2011). Influence of self-efficacy on depression, anxiety and stress among Indian and Iranian students. Journal of Psychosocial Research, 6 (2), 231–240.Google Scholar
Hackett, G., & Betz, N.E. (1981). A self-efficacy approach to the career choice counseling. Career Development Quarterly, 44, 354–366.Google Scholar
Hommes, J., Rienties, B., de Grave, W., Bos, G., Schuwirth, L., & Scherpbier, A. (2012). Visualising the invisible: A network approach to reveal the informal social side of student learning. Advances in Health Science Education, 17, 743–757.Google Scholar
Horstmanshof, L., & Zimitat, C. (2003, July). Do extracurricular roles impact on retention? A social exchange theory perspective. Paper presented at the Seventh Pacific Rim Conference on First Year in Higher Education, Brisbane, Australia.Google Scholar
Jackson, P.B., & Finney, M. (2002). Negative life events and psychological distress among young adults. Social Psychology Quarterly, 65, 186–201.Google Scholar
Jerusalem, M. & Schwatzer, R. (1992) Self-efficacy as a resource factor in stress appraisal processes. In Schwarzer, R. (Ed.), Self-efficacy: Thought control of action (pp. 195–213). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.Google Scholar
Julal, F.S. (2013) Use of student support services among university students: Associations with problem-focused coping, experience of personal difficulty and psychological distress. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 41 (4), 414–425.Google Scholar
Kaslow, N.J., Rehm, L.P., Pollack, S.L., & Siegel, A.W. (1988). Attributional style and self-control behaviour in depressed and non-depressed children and their parents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 163–175.Google Scholar
Kassinove, H., & Sukhodolsky, D.G. (1995). Optimism, pessimism, and worry in Russian and American children and adolescents. Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality, 10, 157–168.Google Scholar
Klip, E.C. (1970). Studiebegeleiding aan eerstejaarsstudenten. Groningen: Wolters-Noordhoff.Google Scholar
Koizumi, R. (1995). Feelings of optimism and pessimism in Japanese students’ transition to junior high school. Journal of Early Adolescence, 15, 412–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lane, J., Lane, A., & Kyprianou, A. (2004). Self-efficacy, self-esteem and their impact on academic performance. Social Behaviour and Personality, 32, 247–256.Google Scholar
Leary, K.A., & DeRosier, M.E. (2012). Factors promoting positive adaptation and resilience during the transition to college. Psychology, 3 (12A), 1215–1222.Google Scholar
Leganger, A., Kraft, P., & Røysamb, E. (2000). Perceived self-efficacy in health behaviour research: Conceptualisation, measurement and correlates. Psychology & Health. 15, 51–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lent, R.W., Brown, S.D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79–122.Google Scholar
Linnenbrink, E.A., & Pintrich, P.R. (2003). The role of self-efficacy beliefs in student engagement and learning in the classroom. Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 19 (2), 119–137.Google Scholar
Martin, G., Roeger, L., Dadds, V., & Allison, S. (1997). Early detection of emotional disorders in South Australia: The first two years. Adelaide, Australia: Southern Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.Google Scholar
McEwan, B. (2013). Retention and resources: An exploration of how social network resources related to university commitment. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 15 (1), 113–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, J.C., & Janis, I.L. (1973). Dyadic interaction and adaptation to the stresses of college life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 20, 258–264.Google Scholar
Nakano, N. (2004). Psychometric properties of the Life-Orientation Test — Revised in samples of Japanese students. Psychological Reports, 94, 849–855.Google Scholar
Nes, L.S., & Segerstrom, S.C. (2006). Dispositional optimism and coping: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 235–251.Google Scholar
Pajares, F. (1996). Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings. Review of Educational Research, 66 (4), 543–578.Google Scholar
Pajares, F. (2003). Self-efficacy beliefs, motivation and achievement in writing. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 19 (2), 139–158.Google Scholar
Pajares, F., & Miller, M.D. (1994). Role of self-efficacy and self-concept beliefs in mathematical problem solving: A path analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86 (2), 193–203.Google Scholar
Pintrich, P., & De Groot, E. (1990). Motivational and self-regulated learning, components of classroom academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 33–40.Google Scholar
Poyrazli, S., McPherson, R., Arbona, C., Pisecco, S., & Nora, A. (2002). Relation between assertiveness, academic self-efficacy, and psychosocial adjustment among international graduate students. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 632–642.Google Scholar
Radloff, L.S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.Google Scholar
Rodgers, L.S., & Tennison, L.R. (2009). A preliminary assessment of adjustment disorder among first year college students. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 23, 220–230.Google Scholar
Ruthig, J.C., Haynes, T.L., Stupnisky, R.H., & Perry, R.P. (2009). Perceived academic control: Mediating the effects of optimism and social support on college students’ psychological health. Social Psychology Education, 12, 233–249.Google Scholar
Scheier, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (1987). Dispositional optimism and physical well-being: The influence of generalized outcome expectancies on health. Journal of Personality, 55, 169–210.Google Scholar
Scheier, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (1991). Dispositional optimism and adjustment to college. Unpublished raw data.Google Scholar
Scheier, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (1992). Effects of optimism on psychological and physical well-being: Theoretical overview and empirical update. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 201–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheier, M.F., Carver, C.S., & Bridges, M.W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the life orientation test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078.Google Scholar
Scheier, M.F., Matthews, K.A., Owens, J.F., Magovern Sr, G.J., Abbott, R.A., Lefebvre, R.C., & Carver, C.S. (1989). Dispositional optimism and recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery: The beneficial effects on physical and psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1024–1040.Google Scholar
Scholz, U., Dona, B. G., Sud, S., & Schwarzer, R. (2002). Is general self-efficacy a universal construct? Psychometric findings from 25 countries. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 18, 242–251.Google Scholar
Schunk, D.H. (2003). Self-efficacy for reading and writing: Influence of modeling, goal setting and self-evaluation. Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 19 (2), 159–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schweizer, K., Beck-Seyffer, A., Schneider, R. (1999). Cognitive bias of optimism and its influence on psychological well-being. Psychological Reports, 84, 627–636.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silva, I., Pais-Ribiero, J., & Cardoso, H. (2004). Difficuldade em perceber o lado positivo da vida? Stresse em doentes diabeticos com e sem complicacoes cronicas da doenca [Difficulty in seeing the bright side of life: Stresses in diabetes patients with and without chronic complications from the disease]. Analise Psicologica, 22, 597–605.Google Scholar
Stallman, H.M. (2008). Prevalence of psychological distress in university students: Implications for service delivery. Australian Family Physician, 37, 673–677.Google Scholar
Stipek, D.J., Lamb, M.E., & Zigler, E.F. (1981). OPTI: A measure of children's optimism. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 41, 131–143.Google Scholar
Stupnisky, R.H., Perry, R.P., Renaud, R.D., & Hladkyj, S. (2013). Looking beyond grades: Comparing self-esteem and perceived academic control as predictors of first-year college students’ well-being. Learning and Individual Differences, 23, 151–157.Google Scholar
Suldo, S.M., & Shaffer, E.J. (2008). Looking beyond psychopathology: The dual-factor model of mental health in youth. School Psychology Review, 37, 52–68.Google Scholar
Suls, J., & Fletcher, B. (1985). The relative efficacy of avoidant and nonavoidant coping strategies: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology, 4, 249–288.Google Scholar
Sweetman, M.E., Munz, D.C., & Wheeler, R.J. (1993). Optimism, hardiness, and explanatory style as predictors of general well-being among attorneys. Social Indicators Research, 29, 153–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, S.E., Buunk, B.P., & Aspinwall, L.G. (1990). Social comparison, stress and coping. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 74–89.Google Scholar
Tobin, L.D., Holroyd, K.A., Reynolds, R.V., & Wigal, J.K. (1989). The hierarchical factor structure of the Coping Strategies Inventory. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 13, 343–361.Google Scholar
Uskan, E., Kisioglu, A.N., & Ozturk, M. (2008). Stress and its effects on depression and anxiety among undergraduates. Primary Care and Community Psychiatry, 13, 73–82.Google Scholar
van Dinther, M., Dochy, F., & Segers, M. (2011). Factors affecting students’ self-efficacy in higher education. Educational Research Review, 6, 95–108.Google Scholar
van Roojen, L. (1986). Advanced students’ adaptation to college. Higher Education, 15, 197–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vickers, K.S., & Vogeltanz, N.D. (2000). Dispositional optimism as a predictor of depressive symptoms over time. Personality and Individual Differences, 28, 259–272.Google Scholar
Vitaliano, P.P., DeWolfe, D.J., Maiuro, R.D., Russo, J., & Katon, W. (1990). Appraised changeability of a stressor as a modifier of the relationship between coping and depression: A test of the hypothesis of fit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 582–592.Google Scholar
Wang, X., Zhang, D., & Wang, J. (2011). Dual-factor model of mental health: Surpass the traditional mental health model. Psychology, 2 (8), 767–772.Google Scholar
Wilson, G., & Gillies, R.M. (2005). Stress associated with the transition from high school to university: The effect of social support and self-efficacy. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 15, 77–92.Google Scholar
Wristen, B.G. (2013). Depression and anxiety in university music students. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 31 (2), 20–27.Google Scholar
Yusoff, Y.M. (2012). Self-efficacy, perceived social support, and psychological adjustment in international undergraduate students in a public higher education institution in Malaysia. Journal of Studies in International Education, 16 (4), 353–371.Google Scholar
Zenger, M., Brix, C., Borowski, J., Stolzenburg, J-U., & Hinz, A. (2009). The impact of optimism on anxiety, depression and quality of life in urogenital cancer patients. Psycho-Oncology, 19, 879–886.Google Scholar
Zigmond, A.S., & Snaith, R.P. (1983). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavica, 67, 361–370.Google Scholar
Zimmerman, B.J., Bandura, A., & Martinez-Pons, M. (1992). Self-motivation for academic attainment: The role of self-efficacy beliefs and personal goal setting. American Educational Journal, 29, 663–676.Google Scholar