First-year students confront an array of challenges when entering university. However, little is known about how they adjust themselves to adapt and work through a multitude of challenges in the transitioning phase. This study delved into the status quo of and relationships among transitional challenges, well-being, help-seeking, and students’ adjustments to university. Whether the relationships vary by gender and majors was also investigated. Data were collected from 710 Hong Kong first-year university students. We employed confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and multigroup structural equation modelling to analyse the data. Results showed that students experienced a low to moderate level of transitional challenges and had a moderate to high level of adjustment. Moreover, we found that socio-emotional challenges, academic challenges, and coping are negatively related to students’ adjustment to university. This relationship held true for students from different majors and gender. This study underscores the significance of considering students’ perceived challenges to promote a smooth transition to university life.

Authors:
Jiajing Li, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Vivian WY Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Haining Gao, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Jiajing Li is a University Postdoctoral Fellow or Instructor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in China

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