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martyb [soylentnews.org] writes:

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Three factors may predict first-year college students’ loss of self-control, WVU study finds [wvu.edu]:

Joining a club that sparks a new interest, playing a new intramural sport or finding a new group of friends may be just as indicative of a college freshman’s loss of self-control as drinking or drug use, according to new research at West Virginia University [wvu.edu].

Self-control—the ability to exercise personal restraint, inhibit impulsivity and make purposeful decisions—in that first year partly depends on a student’s willingness to try new things, including things adults would call “good.”

That’s a new finding, according to Kristin Moilanen [wvu.edu], associate professor of child development and family studies [wvu.edu]. The study [...] observed 569 first year students ages 18-19 at five points over the course of the academic year. Participants completed the first wave of the study two weeks before arriving on campus and the other four over the course of the year.

The tendency to try new things is one of two indicators—the other is are[sic] maternal attachment—that may gauge which students would benefit from an intervention, the study found.

[...] A third factor, stress, is also likely to blame for college freshmen’s loss of self-control, though this was not considered in the study.

“It’s probably reflecting fluctuations in stress over the academic year,” Moilanen said. “First year students don’t have the most accurate representation for what to expect and then they get here and they find that it’s fun, but they also find it’s stressful.”

Stressors, even small ones, Moilanen said, can be more disruptive to self-control than people realize.

Journal Reference:
Kristin L. Moilanen, Katy L. DeLong, Shantel K. Spears, et al. Predictors of initial status and change in self-control during the college transition, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology (DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101235 [doi.org])

Original Submission