Prevalence of Adjustment Problem and Its Predictors among First-Year Undergraduate Students in Ethiopian University: A Cross-Sectional Institution Based Study

Abstract

Background Being in a university for the first time is an unpleasant event and time of heavy pressure relating to social things and dissatisfaction for several new faculty students. Adjustment difficulties are the foremost common issues among freshman students; World Health Organization area unit researched a full-of-life adjustment innovation in universities. Despite this reality, there is a few literature that identifies prevalence and factors related to the adjustment downside among university/college students. Methods Institutional based quantitative cross-sectional study style was conducted from May to June 2016. A total of 537 haphazardly elite students concerned within the study. The result adjustment downside was explained with Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ). Data was described using descriptive analysis; logistic regression was used to assess the relation between adjustment downside and associated factors. An odds quantitative relation 95% confidence interval was used to point out the strength of association. Applied mathematics significance was declared as a p value less than 0.05. Result A total of 537 respondents participate with a response rate of eighty-five percent. the prevalence of adjustment downside among the respondents was 228 ( 42.5%). Of the respondents, 327 (60.9%) were male and therefore the mean (sd) age was 19 (+- 1) years. Being away from home and homesickness (AOR=4.15,95% CI: 2.46,2,99 and AOR=5. 9,95% CI: 2.35,14.76) and difficulties in socializing or making friends (AOR=3.99,95% CI:2.29,6.98) and difficulties in managing time and study skill (AOR=3.02,95% CI: 1.3,7.02) were abundant associated factors with adjustment downside. Conclusion The study confirms that freshman students joining university do face problems in adjusting themselves at the university. Homesickness, difficulties in socializing or making friends, and difficulties in managing time and study skill were found to be significant factors in adjustment downside.

The Magnitude of Loneliness and Associated Risk Factors Among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…This finding is compatible with findings from other studies conducted in Iran and Ethiopia, showing that students feel less lonely as they go through the semesters (15,16). According to research findings from Ethiopia, first-year students had problems adjusting themselves to the new environment (26). The research performed at the University of Washington by English et al supported these findings and indicated that attending universities increases the students' potential to experience loneliness (27).…”

Predicting University Adjustment from Coping-Styles, Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Personality: Findings from a Survey in a Sample of Italian Students

“…The transition from high school to university represents a life phase characterized by various personal, social, and academic shifts. All of these changes require adaptation, and they may be particularly stressful for students who are asked to regulate themselves to handle the demands of the new academic and social environment [ 7 , 8 ].…”

“…Some freshmen are able to deal with these transitional challenges and adjust to university life successfully, whereas others feel overwhelmed and experience various adjustment problems leading them to drop out of university [ 7 , 8 ]. Adjustment to college has been considered as an important factor in predicting university outcomes in terms of grades, retention, withdrawal, or success [ 9 , 10 ].…”

Year of study as predictor of loneliness among students of University of Gondar

“…Mental disturbances and other unhealthy states are common in lonely individuals [19]. Freshman students had problems to adjust themselves into new environment as evidenced in University students at Dila, Ethiopia [20]. Cultural backgrounds affect loneliness which may increase loneliness in some and decreases in others [21].…”