An ex post facto study exploring the impact of parental level of education and parental support on first-year college adjustment

This study explored the impact that parental levels of education and parental support have on college adjustment for first-year students. An ex post facto design was used to examine parental level of education and parental support as variables. Parental level of education is a categorical variable based on report from the student. Parental support was measured using a subscale of the Parental Attachment Questionnaire (Kenny, 1990). The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (Baker & Siryk, 1989) was used to measure students' level of college adjustment during their first year. It was expected that the data will support the hypothesis that students who report higher levels of support will have higher levels of college adjustment. Further, it was expected that students who parents attended college will show higher levels of college adjustment. Finally, it was expected that a relationship among parental level of education, parental support and college adjustment will be found. Results supported that parental level of support significantly impacts levels of college of adjustment. No other significant relationships were found. Implications of these findings are discussed.