L’entree a l’universite represente une periode de transition majeure jalonnee de differents changements de roles, de statuts et de milieux. Cette periode de transition correspond aux debuts du devenir adulte. Au cœur de ce defi developpemental se situent les questions d’autonomie et d’independance. L’autonomie et l’independance s’acquierent de maniere progressive et s’expriment au travers des representations que les jeunes adultes ont du fonctionnement de leur systeme familial et de leur propre fonctionnement. Ainsi, l’environnement familial, les representations d’attachement, la transition d’habitation et les processus d’autodetermination sont des expressions du devenir adulte progressif des individus qui vont etre particulierement questionnees lors de cette transition majeure. En adoptant une vision holistique-interactionniste, ce travail de recherche s’est donne pour objectif d’interroger le developpement psychosocial des jeunes adultes entrant a l’universite en tenant compte des specificites propres a leur periode de developpement.Notre population d’etude se compose d’etudiants primo-entrants. En suivant une approche longitudinale, ce travail de recherche comportait trois temps de mesure et a donne lieu a la realisation de deux cohortes successives. Le premier temps de mesure a eu lieu lors de la rentree universitaire, en septembre/octobre (N = 1 142) ; le deuxieme temps en milieu d’annee universitaire, en fevrier/mars (N = 248) ; et le troisieme temps en fin d’annee universitaire en juin/juillet (N = 101). A chaque temps de mesure, les participants ont ete invites a repondre a un questionnaire qui evaluait leurs perceptions de leur environnement familial (i.e., relation parents-enfant et relations familiales), leurs representations d’attachement, la transition d’habitation qu’ils vivaient, leurs processus d’autodetermination (i.e., motivation a la poursuite d’etudes et besoins psychologiques de base) et leur ajustement psychosocial (i.e., bien-etre psychologique, estime de soi globale, depressivite et resultats academiques). Les donnees ont ete analysees en adoptant une approche a la fois centree sur les personnes et sur les variables ainsi qu’en considerant les differentes formes de variabilites.Nos resultats soulignent l’heterogeneite et la multiplicite des profils d’environnement familial, d’attachement et d’autodetermination, des classes de transition d’habitation ainsi que des patterns de developpement lors de l’entree a l’universite. Ces differents profils d’environnement familial, d’attachement et d’autodetermination presentent une evolution singuliere au cours de la premiere annee universitaire. Au niveau de l’ajustement psychosocial, nos resultats montrent que les caracteristiques personnelles (i.e., attachement et autodetermination) ont un effet sur l’ajustement au cours de la premiere annee contrairement aux contextes dans lesquels evoluent l’individu (i.e., environnement familial et transition d’habitation). L’evolution de l’ajustement psychosocial au cours du temps s’avere positive et stable pour les profils positifs d’environnement familial, d’attachement et d’autodetermination alors qu’il est instable pour les profils negatifs. Enfin, nos resultats conduisent a considerer les besoins psychologiques de base comme des leviers permettant une meilleure adaptation en periode de transition. Ces differentes observations apportent un regard complementaire a la litterature et permettent de venir discuter des applications possibles dans l’accompagnement des adultes en devenir en contexte universitaire.

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Approche longitudinale de l'ajustement psychosocial des étudiants primo-entrants en contexte universitaire : une question de transition vers l'âge adulte

Dealing with the illness/disability of a relative is part of everyday life for many students, who may have to take on caring responsibilities. Fulfilling a caring role during emerging adulthood has been associated with poorer mental health. This study adopts a person-oriented approach in exploring the caring experience in relation to mental health. The sample comprised 3273 students (Mage = 20.19 years, SDage = 1.89; 80.35% female) who answered a series of questionnaires. A cluster analysis identified six patterns of caregiving activities in terms of their nature and extent: few caring activities; household chores; household and financial/practical help; emotional care; sibling care; and many caring activities with emotional and personal care. A series of analyses showed that caring activities differed according to age, gender, living arrangements, financial status, the ill/disabled relative being supported, and the relative’s type of illness/disability. A multivariate analysis of covariance showed that emerging adult students with patterns featuring household chores had better mental health than those with few caring activities. Overall, our findings indicate that having an ill/disabled relative can lead an individual to take on a wide range of caring responsibilities that may have varying consequences for emerging adult students’ mental health.

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Are We All the Same When Faced with an Ill Relative? A Person-Oriented Approach to Caring Activities and Mental Health in Emerging Adult Students

Freshman year is a major life event in emerging adulthood requiring adaptation that is associated with self-determination processes, like academic motivation and basic psychological needs. The purpose of this study was to analyze the way that academic motivation and the satisfaction and frustration of the basic psychological needs are interrelated over the freshman year within a longitudinal person-oriented approach. Such a perspective allows for the identification of patterns and configurations that account for each individual’s dynamic nature. The participants were 246 freshmen (84.55% women; Mage = 18.41; SDage = 0.64). The sample was followed longitudinally through two waves. Longitudinal cluster analyses emphasized a diversity of patterns and heterogeneity of evolution. For academic motivation, it revealed four profiles of academic motivation (i.e., combined stable; low autonomous with an increase of amotivation; demotivated stable; amotivated with a decrease) and four profiles of basic psychological needs (i.e., satisfied stable; autonomy frustration becoming undifferentiated; undifferentiated becoming frustrated; frustrated with a decrease). Second, a chi-square test revealed typical relations associating the most and the least adapted profiles. Stable profiles were linked underlying a joint experience of academic motivation, needs satisfaction, and needs frustration. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of considering academic motivation, needs satisfaction, and needs frustration in fostering emerging adult students’ adaptation in the freshman year context.

The relationship between academic motivation and basic psychological needs within the freshman year context: a longitudinal person-oriented approach

The article is devoted to the review of foreign studies of the phenomenon of burnout of school, college and university students. For academic burnout, a three-component structure corresponding to the traditional one is shown: exhaustion, cynicism, and low perceived effectiveness. The article presents works that investigate the influence of social (the quality of relationships with peers, teachers and close relatives) and individual (emotional and personal profiles, empathic abilities, optimism, personal resources) on the development of burnout symptoms in cross-sectional and longitudinal research formats. We analyzed research data on the impact of burnout and learning stress on the quality of life, psychological well-being and academic success of schoolchildren and students. Approaches to preventing the development of burnout, based on the provisions of positive psychology and psychology of motivation, are considered.

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A. Lebert-Charron

Papers

Du stress au burnout scolaire : définitions, déterminants pychosociaux, évaluation et pistes de prévention