Predicting the Social Commitments of College Students

Abstract

❖ Developmental orientations as measured by the Dakota Inventory of Student Orientations (DISO) are strong predictors of the social attitudes and commitments that college students make. The aim of this study was to investigate the nature of social beliefs and commitments during the college years in relation to developmental orientations as measured by DISO (Lavelle & Rickord, 1999). Results supported CreativeReflective scale scores as predictive of commitment to the more humanitarian issues such as race and women's rights, whereas Achieving-Social scores predicted environmental concern. Interestingly, Reliant scale scores were found to be negatively related to social commitment. Implications include interventions based on the strengths and weaknesses of each orientation and suggestions for further research.

Adjustment of College Freshmen: the Importance of Gender and the Place of Residence

“…There are several models of college student development. One widely recognized and utilized model in the student services field is the Dakota Model (Lavelle & O'Ryan, 2001). The Dakota Model of College Student Development was developed based on factor analysis of 738 students' responses to various items such as career beliefs and social beliefs.…”

“…In recent years the focus has been on creating small group environments that promote opportunities for personal growth and development in both academic and social spheres. In a study of 102 freshmen at a large Midwestern university Lavelle and O'Ryan (2001) found that smaller groups promote intimacy and more complete development of the students. These small groups created a family type of environment that also encouraged students' involvement and increased their ability to adjust to college in the social realm.…”