First-year students’ experiences of adjusting to university: a self-compassion approach
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Date
2022-01
Authors
Oosthuizen, Marone
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Despite the high access rate at universities, the number of South African first-year students who discontinue their studies is a cause of concern. Thus, it is important to explore the possible reasons behind the high discontinuation rate among first-year university students and investigate ways to support their adjustment to university. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore first-year students’ experiences of adjusting to university with specific reference to the challenges they faced during their first year. Their experiences of self-compassion as a possible mechanism to facilitate their adjustment to university were also investigated. An exploratory and descriptive design was utilised to gain a deeper understanding of the participants’ experiences. Qualitative data were collected from 12 students, who registered for the first time at a local university during 2019. They were recruited through purposive sampling and invited to participate in two rounds of semi-structured interviews. Twelve students participated in the first round in the first semester, and nine in the second round in the second semester. As part of the interview process, participants were provided with a vignette that served as a prompt. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Three main themes with two subthemes each emerged from the data analysis: (1) exercising agency as part of the adjustment process; (2) tensions in students’ experiences of self-compassion; and (3) the processes of self-compassion within student experiences. The subthemes that were identified related to the effects of agency on experiences of hope and helplessness, the role of self-compassion in exercising personal responsibility, students’ contradictory experiences of self-compassion, the role of self-compassion when engaging in upward social comparison, the twin process of the yin and yang of self-compassion in adjusting to university, and the reciprocal relationship between social support and selfcompassion. As most studies to date have been quantitative in nature, the findings of this study contribute to the existing body of knowledge of self-compassion by describing how students practised and experienced self-compassion while adjusting to university. Insights gained from this research might have important implications for university intervention programmes focused on first-year students as self-compassion was found to contribute to successful adjustment to university.
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Keywords
Dissertation (M.Soc.Sc. (Counselling Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2022, First-year students, Self-compassion, Adjusting to university, Eudaimonic and hedonic well-being, Positive psychology, Students -- Psychology, Adjustment (Psychology) in students, Social adjustment -- South Africa