The increasing demands of modern society and the modern workforce has resulted in added importance being placed on graduating students¡¦ psychosocial development. One well-established comprehensive theory, Chickering¡¦s theory of psychosocial development (1969, 1993), defines seven ¡§vectors¡¨ of development in a student¡¦s personal growth. He has also emphasized the importance of freshman year in establishing patterns for subsequent personal growth. Consequently for educators to strive for ¡§optimal¡¨ development for the students, it is especially important for them to examine factors during freshman year which may encourage students¡¦ psychosocial development.
This study examines the role of social integration in students¡¦ psychosocial development. Using a longitudinal research design and gathering data collected from a private southern research university at four different time points during the students¡¦ freshman and senior years, this study analyzes the effect of social integration as it relates to Chickering¡¦s theory of psychosocial development. The study focused on three of the seven vectors: Developing Autonomy, Clarifying Purpose, and Mature Interpersonal Relationships. Multiple regression analysis is used to measure the effects of social integration on the students¡¦ psychosocial development.
The results of the study indicated that social integration has a significant influence on Clarifying Purpose and Academic Autonomy, but no influence on Mature Interpersonal Relationships. It also showed that Greek affiliation has a significant influence on Clarifying Purpose and Academic Autonomy as well.
The results of the research are discussed with respect to the parameters of Chickering¡¦s theory. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-1101102-105524 |
| Date | 11 December 2002 |
| Creators | Lien, Leigh A. |
| Contributors | John M. Braxton, Michael McLendon, Leonard Baird, Berta V. Laden, Shozo Kawaguchi |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/theses/available/etd-1101102-105524/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, Copyright information available at source archive |
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