Vocational Certainty and Indecision in College Freshmen

Three groups of entering college freshmen, possessing varying degrees of identification of educational-vocational goals, were compared on a variety of personality, achievement, aptitude, school, and family factors. The major differences indicated that the most undecided group was more dependent than the other two groups, but equal to the most decided group in academic achievement, while a middle, or tentatively decided group, was not as successful academically as the most and least decided groups. These findings suggest that educational-vocational indecision has at least two dimensions. A need for different counseling approaches in dealing with uncertain students depending upon the antecedents of their uncertainty is likely.     

School Counselor Selection: A Systematic Approach

This article presents an objective-based model for the selection of counselors. The model places emphasis on a systematic approach, with staff involvement and clear objectives for the process, and includes suggestions for avoiding ineffective behaviors based on traditional approaches.     

Counseling Status and Academic Achievement of College Freshmen

Baccalaureate- (four-year) and associate- (two-year) degree students counseled prior to registration and after registration, and those not counseled were compared on the basis of ability and first-term grade point average. The time of counseling was not significantly related to the achievement of baccalaureate students with high ability or those with low ability. However, significant differences were found between high and low ability associate students in favor of high ability associate students who were counseled during the summer over those who were counseled during the fall, or who were not counseled. Both baccalaureate- and associate-degree students with low ability more frequently earned lower grades and were more concerned about academic probation than students with high ability.     

Between High School Counselor and College Advisor-A Void

This article describes conditions of the college environment of which freshmen are usually unaware. It presents suggestions for new roles and efforts of both school counselors and college advisors. A healthier learning environment and reduced attrition are the expected outcomes of such efforts.     

Doctoral Student Selection in Counselor Education: A Multidimensional Assessment Strategy

The authors describe the selection process implemented by a counselor education department for screening doctoral applicants. This 2-day selection process is designed to assess each applicant in four areas: counseling skills, interpersonal effectiveness, level of professional knowledge, and credentials.     

民办高校大一新生心理健康状况调查

采用症状自评量表对民办高校8111名大一新生进行问卷调查。结果表明,民办高校的大一新生在强迫、恐怖、精神病性三个因子上的得分显著高于全国常模,在躯体化、人际关系、敌对、抑郁、偏执五个因子上的得分显著低于全国常模;女生在各个因子上的得分均显著高于男生;本科生的心理健康水平低于总体学生的平均水平。     

Faculty Mentoring and the Spiritual Well-being of College Freshmen

This study identifies the impact of faculty mentoring on the spiritual well-being (SWB) of freshman students. This inquiry examined two groups of freshman students, their spiritual well-being, and their interaction with faculty mentors. Two groups were randomly chosen from the 1993–94 freshman class of a Christian liberal arts college in New England. Students in the experimental group participated in one of ten sections of the freshman seminar with a faculty-mentor throughout the academic year. The control group proceeded through the academic year as usual without the freshman-seminar experience. Students in both groups were given a self-assessment survey in September of their freshman year and again in May of their freshman year to determine any significant change in their SWB and to explore their perceptions of student-faculty interaction. Data were analyzed through a variety of statistical tests using the Statistical Program for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

The findings of this study revealed significant differences between the two groups, as well as significantly positive correlations among three aspects of mentoring and the components of spiritual well-being.     

大学新生生活困扰的初步研究

本研究尝试对大学新生的生活困扰问题做一个初步的调查。在广州市某大学新生入学的第一学期末对 2 97名新生用大学新生适应量表进行了测试。结果发现 :( 1 )大学新生的生活困扰涉及人际关系、专业与职业期望、独立生活、资源信息利用和学习等五大方面。 ( 2 )平均而言 ,大学新生明显感到困扰的三个方面依次是资源信息利用、人际关系和学习方面 ;而在专业与职业期望和独立生活两个方面没有感到明显的困扰。 ( 3 )在上述新生生活困扰的五个方面没有发现显著的性别差异。结论 :大学新生的生活困扰问题值得引起足够的重视 ,应该有针对性地采取一些干预措施。     

Diagnosing and Caring for the Reading Difficulties of College Freshmen

One hundred forty-four subjects dichotomized as internal or external on the I-E scale were randomly assigned to one of three reinforcement conditions-no reinforcement, self-reinforcement, or external reinforcement-and one of three subject determination of the correct response conditions-0%, 50%, or 100%. Trials to criterion and errors to criterion on a complex verbal discrimination task were the dependent variables. The results demonstrated that self-reinforcement influenced learning to a greater degree than no reinforcement. Further, when subjects were allowed to determine 100% of the correct responses, the effects of self-reinforcement paralleled the effects of external reinforcement. When subjects determined 50% or 0% of the correct responses, the self-reinforcement and no reinforcement conditions did not differ in influencing overall rate of learning. Internals made significantly fewer errors than externals.     

Social Cognitive Determinants of Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity in College Freshmen

This paper examined the relationship among social cognitive factors and physical activity in college freshmen. Students from a midwestern university ( N  = 69; 56.5% female) participated in this prospective study. Psychosocial data were collected at the beginning of a semester, and physical activity measurement by accelerometry was completed at semester's end. Multiple regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy and physical activity goals were significant predictors of vigorous activity ( r ² = .16). However, these constructs were not significant for moderate activity ( r ² = .16). Social cognitive constructs appear to be related to vigorous, but not moderate activity in college freshmen. Future studies should consider assessing social cognitive and physical activity variables at multiple time points across extended durations.     

Case Study: New Directions For the College Counselor at CCNY

Community mental health concepts suggest that college counselors may move towards preventive activity rather than remaining focused primarily on response to established symptoms in troubled students. Preventive activity views the college, its policies, and its administration as legitimate areas of counselor-involvement. Experience indicates there is room on the campus for both functions: (a) traditional one-to-one interactions within the counseling office; and (b) outreach programs affecting large numbers of students and administrators. Outreach has shown itself effective in reaching students who might not spontaneously seek out the counseling office. Several areas of counselor involvement at City College in which the staff has experimented with the outreach philosophy are discussed.     

The Vocational Interests of Dartmouth College Freshmen: 1947-67

Almost every freshman entering Dartmouth College in the last 20 years has completed the SVIB; this is a report of the trends in their measured interests over this period. Briefly, interest in scientific occupations has been increasing, interest in business occupations decreasing. Mean scores on the CEEB and high school rank information are included here, and may show substantial increases among the more recent classes. Selection with these variables may have created the trends in measured interests. Because selection of a student, or of his peer group, is probably the most important influence an institution has on a student, we should know more about the indirect effects of our current selection techniques.     

Crisis Reactions of College Freshmen As a Function of Family Support Systems

This study explored the relationship between family support system availability and crisis reactions of entering freshman college students. Self-report measures, including distance from home, anticipated weekend visits with family, and number of family relatives residing in the college community, were investigated in relation to the crisis variable. The availability of the student's family was inversely correlated with his or her crisis score. This article emphasizes the need for primary group support and discusses implications for intervention.     

An Ecological View of School Counselor Ratios and Student Academic Outcomes: A National Investigation

The effect of student‐to‐school‐counselor ratios on academic outcomes has been widely studied, yet few researchers have taken a multilevel approach. Using the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study: 2009 dataset, the authors found ratios were significantly associated with student grade point average (GPA) and graduation. Attending a Title I school also was associated with students’ GPA, advanced placement/international baccalaureate credits earned, and postsecondary course taking. The authors discuss implications for advocacy and practice, contextualizing their findings within an ecological framework.     

Examination of the Stigmas Toward Help Seeking Among Turkish College Students

This study builds on previous help‐seeking research in the United States by examining the role of counseling stigma in Turkey. Undergraduate students in Turkey (N = 520) completed self‐report measures of attitudes and intentions to seek counseling and 3 forms of help‐seeking stigma. Results indicated that perceptions of public and social network stigma each uniquely contributed to the experience of self‐stigma, which, in turn, influenced attitudes toward seeking counseling and then help‐seeking intentions.     

Counseling Expectations Among Mexican American College Students: The Role of Counselor Ethnicity

Sixty‐five Mexican American undergraduates completed a battery of tests, including the Expectations About Counseling‐Brief Form B and the Marlowe‐Crown Social Desirability Scale‐Form XX. Statistical analyses showed significant counselor ethnicity and participant gender main and interaction effects on EAC‐B ratings related to client attitudes and behaviors, counselor attitudes and behaviors, counselor characteristics, and counseling process.     

Positive Affect and Self-Efficacy as Mediators Between Personality and Life Satisfaction in Chinese College Freshmen

Personality traits and self-efficacy have been shown to predict subjective well-being, but the two predictors have rarely been investigated together and it remains unknown whether personality traits and self-efficacy are associated with life satisfaction through affect. In the present study, a total of 318 college freshmen in China were administered a battery of questionnaires that assessed Big Five personality traits, generalized self-efficacy, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction. Results from path analyses (AMOS) indicated that generalized self-efficacy mediated the relationship of extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism to positive affect. Furthermore, the association between self-efficacy and life satisfaction was fully mediated by positive affect. However, the regression coefficient for self-efficacy on positive affect was low and self-efficacy was not predictive of negative affect. Contrary to expectations, self-efficacy was of limited value in the prediction of subjective well-being. The current study may help explain how personality operates with self-efficacy and affect to predict life satisfaction in Chinese college freshmen.