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INTRODUCTION: College transition is often regarded as the most stressful phase of life by college students. Hence, it is necessary to find ways to help them adjust more smoothly to this transition. Hope, as conceptualized by C. R. Snyder, has been widely studied as a predictor of optimal functioning and has been shown to be associated with better adjustment among college students. This study aimed to shed light on the role of hope in college transition by examining its unique reciprocal relationships with an array of important psychosocial resources and emotional well-being among first-year college students. METHODS: Data were collected from a sample of Hong Kong college freshmen (N = 433, Medianage = 18 years old, 63.7% female) at two time points. At each time point, participants completed self-reported measures tapping into their levels of hope, psychosocial resources, and emotional well-being. Psychological resources included general and academic self-efficacy, meaning in life, and optimism. Social resources included secure attachment, perceived school environment, and social support. Emotional well-being was operationalized as positive and negative emotions. Cross-lagged panel models were constructed and tested by path analyses. RESULTS: When autoregression and the effects of other variables were controlled, a greater sense of hope uniquely predicted higher levels of general and academic self-efficacy, greater presence of life meanings, more secure attachment, and more positive and fewer negative emotions. On the other hand, higher levels of meaning in life (both presence and search) and social support uniquely predicted greater hope. Academic hope and presence of life meanings reciprocally predicted one another, whereas other significant cross-lagged relationships were unidirectional. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest interventions that promote hope can be useful in helping college freshmen adjust to the new college environment by enhancing their psychosocial resources and emotional well-being. Such interventions would be more effective if they included elements that boost meaning in life and social support, which are expected to further enhance the perceptions of hope.

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Background: Improving the understanding and treatment of mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety, are significant priorities for autistic adults. While several theories have been proposed to explain the high prevalence of internalizing symptoms in autistic populations, little longitudinal research has been done to investigate potential causal mechanisms. Additional research is needed to explore how proposed contributors to depression from general population research predict and/or moderate the development of internalizing symptoms in autistic individuals. In this study, we investigated the relation of one established risk factor, repetitive negative thinking (RNT), to internalizing symptoms over the course of college students' first semester, additionally examining whether this association is moderated by a measure of autistic traits. Methods: Students were recruited from 4 northeastern U.S. universities: 144 participating students included 97 nonautistic students and 47 participants who either reported a formal autism diagnosis (n = 15) or endorsed a history of self and/or others thinking that they may be autistic (n = 32). Participants completed a baseline survey battery within their first 2 weeks of starting college, a brief biweekly survey throughout their first semester (up to 24 times across 12 weeks), and an endpoint packet. Results: Elevated trait-like RNT at baseline was prospectively associated with biweekly ratings of depression and anxiety symptoms across the semester. In addition, greater RNT was synchronously related to elevated sadness, anhedonia, and anxiety throughout the semester. Contrary to hypotheses, a shorter term predictive relationship between RNT at one timepoint and mood symptoms at the next was largely unsupported. While these patterns were observed across neurotypes, students with higher self-reported autistic traits were more likely to experience RNT, as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: These preliminary findings highlight RNT as a specific mechanism that may be a useful prevention and/or intervention target toward reducing the elevated depression and anxiety rates in the autistic community.

Why was this study done?: Many autistic people have depression and anxiety. However, we know very little about why autistic people are more likely to have these mental health concerns than people who are not autistic. We also do not know what leads to these symptoms over time. One theory is that repetitive negative thinking (RNT; or thinking repeatedly about problems and worries) might cause depression and anxiety. Autistic people might do more RNT than nonautistic people. What was the purpose of this study?: In this study, we wanted to see how RNT might relate to depression and anxiety over the first semester of college. We looked at how this might be related to autistic traits. What did the researchers do?: The researchers gave surveys to 144 students about their experiences with depression, anxiety, and RNT. The participants answered these surveys at the beginning and end of their first semester at their university. They also completed a brief survey 24 times (twice per week for 12 weeks) during the semester. What were the results of the study?: We found that overall RNT levels at the beginning of the semester were related to sadness, anhedonia (lack of pleasure), and anxiety later. In-the-moment RNT reported on the twice-weekly survey was also related to sadness, anhedonia, and anxiety. However, RNT on biweekly surveys did not seem to predict mood symptoms a few days later. Students with higher levels of autistic traits tended to report more depression and anxiety, as well as more RNT. What do these findings add to what was already known?: This study helps us to understand that RNT might be related to depression and anxiety, regardless of whether or not someone is autistic. This might mean that reducing RNT could help prevent or treat depression and anxiety, especially in autistic adults. What are potential weaknesses in the study?: Our study had a low number of participants with formal autism diagnoses (15 people), so it might not represent the broader population of autistic adults with formal diagnoses as well as we would like. Nevertheless, we had a larger group with self-reported or suspected autism (32 people). How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?: These findings help us to better understand risk factors for depression and anxiety in autistic adults. Since RNT was related to depression and anxiety in the same way regardless of levels of autistic traits in our study, we hope that clinicians will feel more comfortable providing therapy to people with mood disorders, regardless of whether they are autistic and/or have high autistic traits. This could be a small step toward increasing equity and accessibility of mental health services for autistic adults.

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Objective: Depression and anxiety have been identified as growing concerns for many populations in the United States, including young adults. We investigated how internalizing symptoms may have changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic among students transitioning to college.Participants: Participants were incoming undergraduates in Fall 2020, 2021, and 2022 at Northeastern Universities (N = 263).Methods: Participants completed self-reports of mood, repetitive thinking, and social satisfaction within two weeks of beginning their first college semester.Results: Depression and anxiety symptoms appear to differ by year, such that both have increased over time. These results seem to be co-occurring with an increase in repetitive negative thinking - a known predictor of depression and anxiety.Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest that mental health concerns in young adults may be worsening despite the resumption of in-person activities post-initial pandemic onset. This highlights the need to monitor and intervene on mental health in students transitioning to college.

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The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the college transition process and first year college experience for several cohorts of students. This review addresses research related to the college transition process, illustrating the "high touch" support mechanisms that are often characteristic of students' experiences during the first year. Understanding the needs of students in the transition and how colleges have supported students historically helps to explain why the pandemic was disruptive to students transitioning into college and throughout their first year. The review suggests additional support is needed for students' mental health and other stressors that they face. It also reinforces the need to ensure that support mechanisms are mindful of students who have been historically marginalized.

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Low-income, Latinx students navigate independent norms in U.S. educational systems and interdependent norms in their familial dynamics. Yet, their everyday interactions with important others (e.g., peers, parents, instructors) reveal more complexity in between these contexts, often communicating paradoxes of independence and interdependence. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 35 low-income, Latinx high school graduates before they entered college to examine how their daily interactions in home and school contexts facilitated dynamic and paradoxical engagement with interdependence and independence. Using constructivist grounded theory, we constructed five types of paradoxes. For example, strong practices of interdependence in their college-preparatory high school setting (e.g., extensive academic support) undermined students' desires to be independent. These contradictions reflect an in-between space, referred to as nepantla, where students give voice to and make sense of past, present, and future understandings of how to be a self.

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International education activities suddenly halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, severely disrupting student mobility and academic learning. Many educational institutions have delivered programs to students through digital devices globally rather than in situ. Such a shift presents a unique opportunity to assess the impact of online and hybrid education for international students. This qualitative study interviewed 30 international students who had arrived on campus and shared their first-year university transition experiences during the pandemic. The analysis shows that spatial and temporal circumstances created two scenarios and thus resulted in different first-year university experiences. Although all students were dissatisfied with online learning, studying at a distance in different time zones was particularly detrimental to international students' mental and physical health. The (im)mobile environments led to mismatches in expectations, roles, activities, and realities, negatively affecting student learning and adjustment. This study highlights the complex international transition issues and offers implications for sustainable online and hybrid-learning practices in the educational system.

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COVID-19 forced college administrators to reassess how they provide students with the most effective methods of support. This project examined the first year of a novel digital peer mentoring program with the goal of connecting diverse students to campus resources they needed to navigate the transition to and through their first year of college. MentorHub, a referral and supportive accountability mobile application, was implemented with first-year undergraduates at a large, private university in the northeastern region of the USA. MentorHub tracked students' current challenges and connected them with trained peer mentors who provided students with support and referrals to campus resources (e.g., mental health, financial, academic). Analyses were not hypothesis-driven, but instead were exploratory and intended for improving the platform. In the first year of the program (August 2021 to June 2022), 47% (N = 3141) students logged onto the platform at least once. Patterns of self-reported challenges revealed that career concerns were the most challenging at the beginning of the fall semester, and that academic habits were most challenging over the course of the year. Referrals (N = 756) were made by mentors, 13% of which were for health and well-being. First-generation and underrepresented minority students showed distinct patterns in referrals. Findings revealed distinct patterns in self-reported challenges across the academic year. Students' use of MentorHub and responses to in-app questions allowed for a real-time understanding of student challenges and patterns of engagement with peer mentors. Implications for a stepped-care approach to addressing student challenges are discussed. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41347-023-00303-8.

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ObjectiveTo test a diathesis-stress model whereby self-criticism interacts with monthly perceived stress to predict same-month or next-month internalizing problems, including depression, anxiety, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), and suicidal ideation, in students transitioning to university. Participants: 704 students (73% female, Mage = 17.97) were recruited during their first month of university in 2017 and 2018. Methods: Students completed surveys assessing self-criticism, perceived stress, and internalizing problems from September to April. Results: Self-criticism predicted higher depression and anxiety, as well as odds of NSSI and suicidal ideation, in students' first month on campus. Consistent with a diathesis-stress model, self-criticism strengthened the associations between stress and same-month depression and anxiety. Conclusions: Self-critical students are at elevated risk of internalizing problems during the transition to university, particularly when they feel more stressed than usual. These findings elucidate which students should be targeted in interventions and when interventions should be delivered to curtail internalizing problems.

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PURPOSE: To examine whether emotional support moderates the association between college generation status and concurrent and prospective levels of systemic inflammation during the college transition among a sample of older U.S. adolescents. METHODS: At an undergraduate tertiary institution, 41 first-generation college students (first-gens) and 46 continuing-generation college students (continuing-gens) in their first semester of college reported on basic demographic information and perceived emotional support. They also had their blood drawn midway through both the first and second semester to measure C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. An inflammatory composite for each semester was created by averaging the standardized scores for log-transformed C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. RESULTS: Compared to continuing-gens, first-gens had greater systemic inflammation in the first semester regardless of their level of emotional support (B = 0.515, p = .003). However, emotional support moderated the association between college generation status and prospective systemic inflammation in the second semester (B = -0.525, p = .007) such that first-gens had greater systemic inflammation compared to continuing-gens, but only if they reported lower levels of emotional support (B = 0.826, p = .002). This moderation effect held after further adjusting for systemic inflammation in the first semester (B = -0.374, p = .022). Also discussed are results of secondary analyses examining sources of support. DISCUSSION: Compared to continuing-gens, first-gens had greater systemic inflammation in the first semester irrespective of emotional support, suggesting all first-gens may stand to benefit from college resources provided early in the college transition. Furthermore, first-gens who reported lower levels of emotional support may benefit from additional college resources provided beyond the first semester.

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Objective. Examine mental health symptom prevalence and rates of campus services utilization among Black male, White male and Black female college students. Participants. 2500 students from an ongoing, student survey at a public university; launched in 2011. Methods. Measures included data for anxiety and depressive symptoms and utilization of campus health services (counseling center, health services, etc.). Descriptive analyses determined prevalence and utilization rates. Mann Whitney U tests compared prevalence. Chi-squared tests compared utilization rates. Results. Anxiety prevalence: greater than 60% of students from each ethnic group reported symptoms; reporting rates decreased significantly for Black men (49.6%); p < 0.001. Depression prevalence: greater than 80% reported symptoms; there were significant differences in reporting between Black men and Black women (72.7% vs. 87.1%, p < 0.001). Utilization: Black men utilized counseling services less than White men (20.4% vs. 37.8%, p = 0.024). Conclusion. Black men report depressive and anxiety symptoms but underutilize campus health resources.

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In response to the growing numbers of minoritized students (e.g., low-income, first-generation, students of color) transitioning into U.S. systems of higher education, researchers have developed transition-assistance strategies, such as psychologically wise-story interventions. Through a rigorous, theory-driven approach, wise-story interventions use stories to encourage students to develop adaptive meanings about college-transition challenges, subsequently allowing students to persist. Yet there is one critical distinction between existing wise-story interventions. Well-known examples endorse a color-evasive message that all students, regardless of their demographic backgrounds, share similar struggles when adjusting to college. One variation in wise-story interventions ties transition struggles explicitly to students' identities, adopting more of a multicultural perspective. Drawing from diversity frameworks, we offer in this article a comparative analysis of these variations; we outline under what conditions, for whom, and through which processes these varying approaches to identity affect student outcomes. In this discussion, we reflect on both the strengths and challenges of wise-story interventions and offer considerations for extending these approaches. Specifically, we ask whether integrating critical perspectives into wise-story interventions better addresses the experiences of minoritized students as they navigate institutions historically built for dominant groups.

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Research demonstrates a clear connection between socialization initiatives and college student retention. Less clear are the ways transgender students select an institution to attend and transition into postsecondary education. As scholars dedicate efforts to understand trans college student success, more information is needed to determine how socialization initiatives fit in the success puzzle. Drawing upon an extensive qualitative study of trans college students, this article seeks to identify the factors that affect trans students' college choice process and their experiences with anticipatory socialization initiatives moving into their first semester of study. Findings indicated that students attempted to grasp an institution's commitment to transgender inclusion through various questions and online tools. Additionally, participants indicated the normalization of discussions concerning chosen names and pronouns suggested a supportive campus environment that helped them feel secure in selecting the institution.

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Obesity is an issue for young adults in the U.S. This population is particularly vulnerable to weight gain as they move from adolescence to young adulthood, especially as they transition from high school to college. Adopting a health promotion approach, a university-based cluster of researchers, community advocates, and a technology partner embarked on a two-year seed development project that focused on development, implementation, and evaluation of a web-based healthy lifestyle intervention for college students. Using a mixed-method design, two convenience samples of residential university students were recruited to participate in a 4-week intervention called Eat, Move, Live, in which they interacted with a newly-created comprehensive website about management of a healthy lifestyle. Participants' post-intervention readiness for change increased by 15% (eating and life balance behaviors) to 23% (moving behaviors). Participants reported increased awareness of eating behaviors, and feelings of engagement in tracking their fruit and vegetable consumption. Findings suggest that technology may be utilized to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of achieving students' individual goals related to healthy living. These preliminary findings have implications for increasing the development and implementation of technological approaches to health promotion for young adult students.

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BACKGROUND: The transition to college is an important developmental phase, usually met with increased social desirability, access to alcohol, and new peer groups. Recently, research has utilized social media as a predictor of events during college, but few have assessed how social media can influence alcohol use during the transition to college. Methods: Participants (N = 320) were recruited prior to entering their first year of college. Participants were 18 years old, 60.7% were women, with 46.3% identifying as White, 16.5% Hispanic, 14.9% Asian, 9.5% Black, and 7.6% other. Each participant was assessed three times: prior to matriculation, first semester, and second semester of their freshman year. We assessed the effect of exposure to alcohol content via social media on long-term trajectories of alcohol use. We also assessed self-reported sex as a moderator. Results: Exposure to alcohol content (over and above one's own posting of alcohol content) was associated with greater frequency of drinking during the transition to college. In the multi-group model, exposure to alcohol content was associated with greater drinking prior to matriculation for men. However, for women, exposure to alcohol content was associated with greater alcohol use in the first semester of college. Conclusion: Our results indicate exposure to alcohol-related media content is a strong predictor, over and above one's own positing, of increased drinking, and this effect varies by sex and point in time. Our results lend support for more tailored and time-specific prevention programming for incoming freshmen that should integrate social media normative feedback.

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Affect reactivity to stress may play a role in the development of internalizing symptoms during the college transition, a critical developmental juncture for Latinx adolescents, the largest ethnic minority group on college campuses. This study examined whether affect reactivity during high school is associated with internalizing symptoms in college and explored two potential protective factors, perceived family and peer support. Participants were 209 Latinx adolescents (Mage = 18.10; 64.4% female) who completed standard surveys and four diary assessments per day over 7 days (N > 4,500 momentary observations). First, to measure affect reactivity, we assessed whether perceived stress was associated with negative affect at the momentary level during high school (senior year). Second, we tested whether affect reactivity predicted internalizing symptoms during the first year of college. Third, we tested whether perceived family or peer support buffered the negative consequences of affect reactivity. Results indicated statistically significant within- and between-person associations between stress and negative affect. Moreover, affect reactivity significantly predicted depressive, but not anxiety, symptoms. Buffering was found for family, but not peer, support. Findings extend previous research by detecting associations between momentary affect reactivity and internalizing symptoms during a sociocultural shift in Latinx adolescents' lives and have implications for culturally appropriate programs to prevent depressive symptoms.

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Objective: Both lower subjective social status (SSS)-or viewing oneself as having lower status relative to others-and greater early life stress consistently relate to poorer health in adolescence. Early life stress can also negatively influence one's social relationships and may thereby shape social status. The present studies investigated how early life stress relates to the development of SSS and how SSS relates to health across the transition to college.Design: In Study 1, 91 older adolescents (Mage = 18.37) reported early life stress, society SSS, and school SSS, and they reported their society SSS and school SSS again 2 years later. In Study 2, 94 first-year college students (Mage = 18.20) reported early life stress and society SSS at study entry and reported their dorm SSS, university SSS, and mental health monthly throughout the year.Results: Greater early life stress was related to lower society SSS, but not school SSS, in both studies. In Study 2, dorm and university SSS and early life stress were uniquely related to mental health, although associations weakened over time.Conclusion: Early life stress may predispose people to have low society SSS, and both low school SSS and high early life stress may increase risk for poorer health during transition periods.

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Introduction: The social impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on student transition to college is significant, yet poorly understood. Methods: Two 90-min focus groups (FGs) were conducted with eight student-patients with IBD. Reflective journals were used to corroborate, elaborate, or challenge emergent FG findings. Results: Six themes emerged: (1) transitioning to college, (2) interacting with physicians, (3) affecting social life, (4) managing the disease by yourself and through support, (5) coping strategies, and (6) facing disease challenges. These themes remained relevant in the reflective writings. Analysis of serial journal entries showed that students' social life and engagement in coursework was affected 66% and 54% of the time, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings offer guidance for improving students' college success, quality of care, and enhancing physician-patient interactions. Students with IBD have a disability that may not be obvious or visible. They require specific support to help them transition and succeed in college.

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As the first in their families to attend college, first-generation students plausibly experience family achievement guilt-socioemotional distress related to "leaving family members" to attend college. Family achievement guilt is little studied but a promising indicator of student outcomes. The present work used psychometric methods to develop the family achievement guilt scale. First-generation (46.6%) and continuing-generation (i.e., at least one parent has a 4-year degree, 53.4%) students completed a 41-item guilt measure online. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors, including guilt related to Leaving Family Behind, Having More Privileges, Becoming Different, and Experiencing Pressures about not being successful. The scale yielded good internal and test-retest reliability. Moreover, guilt predicted greater engagement in family roles and interdependent motives for college, even after controlling for general negative affect. In measuring guilt in psychometrically sound ways, we validate the voices of first-generation college students and alert institutions to adjust how they serve students.

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This study tested a self-verification model of social anxiety in the context of relationship formation during the transition to college. Incoming college freshmen (N = 68) completed measures of social anxiety and social self-esteem at the beginning of college and 10 weeks later. Using sociometric ratings completed 10 weeks later, relational victimization appeared to be a unitary construct and not distinct from physical victimization. Participants with low social self-esteem at Time 1 were subsequently seen as victimized, reported disliking spending time at Time 2 with peers who reported liking them, and reported high social anxiety at Time 2 even in the absence of subsequent victimization. The implications of these results for understanding the role of self-verification processes in the maintenance of self-image and social anxiety are discussed.