Adjustment of first year university students and the effect of a psychosocial intervention on their mental health and adjustment over an interrupted time series

Abstract

First-year students face an array of challenges, ranging from financial, to academic and psychosocial problems. Research suggests that first-year students require student support structures to enable student retention. Higher education institutions have now focused on building towards student graduate attributes as well as developing well-balanced, well-rounded students. First-year experience studies have identified the growing interest in the potential impact of psycho-social interventions on the social adjustment and influence on students’ mental health. This study assess the effects of psychosocial interventions on the mental health and adjustment of first-year students by using an Interrupted Time Series (ITS) analysis.