Abstract:
Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental time as individuals strive to form an identity and establish important social ties. The balance among motives to achieve, gain social power, and connect with others shapes the course of early adulthood as these motives determine how individuals spend their time and energy. This study investigated whether attachment styles, resource control strategies and achievement motivation predict adjustment to college. One hundred and thirteen domestic undergraduate students from a small private university in an urban setting in the Northeast were recruited in different level courses to fill out a series of previously validated measures, assessing their social dominance (resource control strategies), attachment style, achievement motive (explicit and implicit) and adjustment to college. A multiple regression analysis was performed to determine how these constructs predicted adjustment to college. The results of this study showed that adjustment to college was significantly negatively predicted by attachment anxiety and coercive resource control strategies. This study informs strategies that can be used by faculty and staff to enhance students’ personal growth and increase their success.
