This study examines the relationship between psychosocial and study skill factors (PSFs) and college outcomes by meta-analyzing 109 studies. On the basis of educational persistence and motivational theory models, the PSFs were categorized into 9 broad constructs: achievement motivation, academic goals, institutional commitment, perceived social support, social involvement, academic self-efficacy, general self-concept, academic-related skills, and contextual influences. Two college outcomes were targeted: performance (cumulative grade point average; GPA) and persistence (retention). Meta-analyses indicate moderate relationships between retention and academic goals, academic self-efficacy, and academic-related skills (ps = .340, .359, and .366, respectively). The best predictors for GPA were academic self-efficacy and achievement motivation (ps = .496 and .303, respectively). Supplementary regression analyses confirmed the incremental contributions of the PSF over and above those of socioeconomic status, standardized achievement, and high school GPA in predicting college outcomes.

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Do Psychosocial and Study Skill Factors Predict College Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis.

Objective Disease containment of COVID-19 has necessitated widespread social isolation. We aimed to establish what is known about how loneliness and disease containment measures impact on the mental health in children and adolescents. Method For this rapid review, we searched MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and Web of Science for articles published between January 1, 1946, and March 29, 2020. Of the articles, 20% were double screened using predefined criteria, and 20% of data was double extracted for quality assurance. Results A total of 83 articles (80 studies) met inclusion criteria. Of these, 63 studies reported on the impact of social isolation and loneliness on the mental health of previously healthy children and adolescents (n = 51,576; mean age 15.3 years). In all, 61 studies were observational, 18 were longitudinal, and 43 were cross-sectional studies assessing self-reported loneliness in healthy children and adolescents. One of these studies was a retrospective investigation after a pandemic. Two studies evaluated interventions. Studies had a high risk of bias, although longitudinal studies were of better methodological quality. Social isolation and loneliness increased the risk of depression, and possibly anxiety at the time at which loneliness was measured and between 0.25 and 9 years later. Duration of loneliness was more strongly correlated with mental health symptoms than intensity of loneliness. Conclusion Children and adolescents are probably more likely to experience high rates of depression and most likely anxiety during and after enforced isolation ends. This may increase as enforced isolation continues. Clinical services should offer preventive support and early intervention where possible and be prepared for an increase in mental health problems.

Rapid Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19.

Loneliness is a complex set of feelings encompassing reactions to the absence of intimate and social needs. Although transient for some individuals, loneliness can be a chronic state for others. We review the developmental, social, personality, clinical, and counseling psychology literatures on loneliness with an emphasis on recent empirical findings. Chronic feelings of loneliness appear to have roots in childhood and early attachment processes. Chronically lonely individuals are more likely to be high in negative affectivity, act in a socially withdrawn fashion, lack trust in self and others, feel little control over success or failure, and generally be dissatisfied with their relationships compared to nonlonely individuals. Loneliness has also been associated with a variety of individual differences including depression, hostility, pessimism, social withdrawal, alienation, shyness, and low positive affect; loneliness is also a concomitant of more severe disorders, such as clinical depression, borderline personality, and schizophrenia. Although loneliness affects a large number of individuals and is associated with numerous negative outcomes, relatively few investigations have examined the efficacy of treatments aimed at alleviating or preventing loneliness. Several investigations raise the possibility of treating loneliness, but the absence of appropriate comparison groups casts doubt on the efficacy of many of these treatments. Correlational studies also suggest that one close friend or romantic partner may be sufficient to buffer those at risk for loneliness. Research on causal processes is sparse, however, and more research is needed to delineate which factors are antecedents and which are consequences of loneliness.

Lonely hearts: Psychological perspectives on loneliness

Based on Tinto's (1993) model of academic persistence, this study investigated the relationship of loneliness, social support, and living arrangements with academic persistence decisions of 401 col...

The Relationship of Loneliness and Social Support with College Freshmen's Academic Performance and Persistence:

Using both organizational and educational perspectives, the authors proposed and tested theoretical models on the mediating roles that psychosocial factors (PSFs; motivational, emotional, and social control factors) play between college interventions (academic skill, self-management, socialization, and First-Year-Experience interventions) and college outcomes (academic performance and retention). They first determined through meta-analysis of 404 data points the effects of college interventions on college outcomes and on PSFs. These meta-analytic findings were then combined with results from S. B. Robbins et al.'s (2004) meta-analysis to test the proposed models. Integrated meta-analytic path analyses showed the direct and indirect effects (via PSFs) of intervention strategies on both performance and retention outcomes. The authors highlight the importance of both academic skill and self-management-based interventions; they also note the salience of motivational and emotional control mediators across both performance and retention outcomes. Implications from organizational and educational perspectives, limitations, and future directions are addressed.

Intervention effects on college performance and retention as mediated by motivational, emotional, and social control factors: integrated meta-analytic path analyses

Summary.-This research examined how 187 students assessed a course evaluation form, the anonymity of the evaluation process, the fairness and accuracy students attribute to the task of completing evaluations of instruction, and students' perceptions of the extent to which teachers and administrators make use of the information provided by evaluations. 92% of the student-participants believed that the rating forms provided an effective means of evaluating instruction. The majority thought instructors pay attention to evaluation results and change their behavior accordingly. Only 2% believed that their anonymity was not protected. Students appeared to have more faith in their own evaluations than in those of other students. They also lacked confidence in the use of evaluations for determining salary increases or tenure and promotion.

Students' perceptions of the value of teaching evaluations

This study explored the relations between affective variables—anxiety about mathematics or confidence, effectance motivation, perceptions of mathematics as a male domain, attitude toward success in mathematics, and students' perceptions of their parents' attitudes toward their children as learners of mathematics—and performance in a first-quarter developmental studies algebra course. The affective variables together accounted for 34% of the variance in first-quarter mathematics grades. Anxiety was the only attitudinal variable that made a significant contribution to the proportion of variance for the total group and for the 38 women. For the 20 men both anxiety and attitude toward success contributed significantly to first-quarter mathematics grades.

Affective Variables Related to Mathematics Achievement among High-Risk College Freshmen

The Importance of Perceived Duration: Loneliness and Its Relationship to Self Esteem and Academic Performance.

The Development of Underprepared Freshmen Enrolled in a Self-Awareness Course.

The selection of students who are most likely to succeed in a college developmental studies program is a task with serious ramifications for individuals and institutions. The present study examined the moderating influence of gender and race on the accuracy of high school grades and College Board Scholastic Aptitude (SAT) scores in predicting the academic performance of developmental students. The results indicated significant slope differences in the regression lines for race with the equation for blacks accounting for 10 percent more variance than the equation for whites. Within the racial groups, significant intercept differences based on gender were found for whites only. The relationship between high school grade point average and SAT scores in predicting freshman grade point average for developmental students was similar to the relationship reported for regularly admitted students.

Patricia L. Dwinell

Papers

Students' perceptions of the value of teaching evaluations

Affective Variables Related to Mathematics Achievement among High-Risk College Freshmen

The Importance of Perceived Duration: Loneliness and Its Relationship to Self Esteem and Academic Performance.

The Development of Underprepared Freshmen Enrolled in a Self-Awareness Course.

The Moderating Effects of Gender and Race in Predicting the Academic Performance of College Developmental Students