University Belonging, Friendship Quality, and Psychological Adjustment During the Transition to College

The authors collected questionnaire data from college students (N = 79) at 2 time points during their freshman year to examine how changes in a sense of university belonging, quality of friendships, and psychological adjustment were associated. Students who had positive changes in university belonging had corresponding positive changes in self-perceptions (e.g., scholastic competence, self-worth) and decreases in their internalizing problem behaviors. Although the results did not link improvements over time in friendship quality to changes in self-perceptions, the authors linked them to decreasing levels of problem behaviors. The authors discuss the importance of educators’ fostering university belonging and positive friendships among students as they transition to college.