Psychosocial factors impacting the college adjustment of undergraduate students: A scoping review

Abstract

This scoping review explores the emerging evidence on psychosocial factors that influence the adjustment and academic performance of undergraduate students. For the identification of pertinent studies, we searched the following electronic databases: EbschoHost, ERIC, ScienceDirect and Sabinet. Our inclusion criteria were studies published between 2008 and 2019, which surveyed undergraduate students’ well-being and academic performance, with no restriction of region. We identified 18 studies that met the selection criteria. Thematic analysis of the findings revealed undergraduates’ college adjustment to be influenced by their overall university preparedness, their school-to-college transition support, their social interaction, their help-seeking capabilities, and their motivation levels. College student counselling and development services should seek to proactively address psychosocial factors that may detract from students’ success.