The Factors Related to Social Adjustment of the First Year undergraduate Students at Mahasarakham University

Abstract

The transitions of society, environment and people have an effect to population’s
living and lifestyle. If this change suddenly, people have to adjust themselves including
students. There are many factors and if they choose the right one, their lives in the
university will be happy. This research aims to study the related factors to the first year
undergraduate students’ adjustment by comparison the adjustment of the first year
undergraduate students from different faculties and create the predictive equations. The
samples are the first year undergraduate students of Mahasarakham University who study in
semester 2 academic year 2554 total 2,226 students and gain from the stratified random
sampling. Research instruments used two 5 rating scales assessment forms: the first form is
measure of factors related to social adjustment consisting of 90 items divided into 7 sides
with the power of discrimination for each item (r) from .250 to .832 and the reliability test
between .712 to .834. The second document measures the students social adjustment with
the power of discrimination for each item (r) from .318 to .709 and the reliability of the
whole test is .892. Statistics used in data analysis were Pearson’s product Moment
Correlation Coefficient and Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis. Results of this research
found as follow :
1. Factors that had effect to the social adjustment of the first year undergraduate
students, Mahasarakham University were study expectances, family relationship, friend
relationship, lecturer relationship and self-concept. They had the positive relationships with
student social adjustment at the significant level .01
2. Students in different faculties have the different in statistically at least 1 pair
at the significant level .01 and social adjustment was in high level ( 4.04). The topmost
faculty that have students social adjustment is College of Music , second is the Faculty of
Engineering and inferior to Faculty of Education and Faculty of Public Health. Experiment for
the difference in pairs by LSD method found the different average from .137 to .591 total
75 pairs.
3. Factors that able to predict the students social adjustment at the significant
level of .01 wereself – concept (x6), friend relationship (x4), study expectance (x2), lecturer
relationship (x5) and family relationship (x3). With the multiple regression coefficient (R) of
.960 the multiple determination coefficient (R2) of .921 able to predict the students social
adjustment at 92.10 percent. Standard error (SEest) at .143 and the constant value of the
equation in raw score (a) was .151. This could be brought to create predictive equation in
the raw score and standard score as followed :
= .151+ .522X6 + .279 X4 + .109 X2+ .088 X5+ .030 X3
= .535 Z6 + .323 Z4 + .107 Z2 + .085 Z5+ .031 Z3