The purpose of the study was to examine first-generation and non-first-generation female college students adjustment to college by researching both risk factors and protective factors to multifaceted college adjustment. In the study I compared first-generation students to non-first-generation students on selected variables including perceptions of experienced stress, disordered eating, personal empowerment, academic adjustment to college, social adjustment to college, personal-emotional adjustment to college, and goal commitment/institutional attachment to college. I also explored the relationship of selected predictor variables to the level of adjustment to college of first-year female college students. Specifically, the study examined whether certain characteristics identified as risk factors, such as generational status, work status, perceptions of experienced stress, and disordered eating, along with protective factors, such as orientation course experience and personal empowerment, were related to academic adjustment to college, social adjustment to college, personal-emotional adjustment to college, and goal commitment/institutional attachment to college in first-year female college students.

Data were collected from first-time, first-year female college students. Questionnaires were completed by 155 participants. Four separate hierarchical multiple regressions were used to test what risk and protective factors were related to the four types of college adjustment. In the final model, perceptions of experienced stress and disordered eating accounted for a significant amount of variance for personal-emotional adjustment to college. Stress and personal empowerment accounted for a significant amount of variance in the final model for social adjustment to college. In the final model of academic adjustment to college perceptions of experienced stress accounted for a significant amount of variance for academic adjustment to college. Finally, perceptions of experienced stress and personal empowerment accounted for a significant amount of variance for goal commitment/institutional attachment to college. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to test group differences. Comparisons between first-generation female college students and non-first-generation female college students on personal-emotional adjustment, social adjustment, academic adjustment, goal commitment/institutional attachment, disordered eating, perceptions of experienced stress, and personal empowerment were examined. The MANOVA did not reveal a significant group effect for generational status.

KEYWORDS: First-Generation, College Adjustment, Transition, Women, First-Year