Social Adaptation of College Freshmen Students

Erika Hatakeyama ; Archie Fe Limboy ; Emely Flor Rizon ; Kevin Gil Soriano

Introduction

 Attending a university for the first time can be a stressful experience for many new college students. The unfamiliarity of university life as individuals make the transition to adulthood can challenge an individuals personal security, need for acceptance, need for comfort, and social support network. As a result, many incoming freshmen may have difficulty adapting to university life.

 Adaptation is the state of adjustment between an

organism or a social group and its environment as is favorable to existence and growth, or the process be which unity comes into, and continues in this favorable relation.

To many adolescents, how they are seen by peers is the

most important aspect of their lives. Some adolescents will go along anything, just to be included as a member of the group. To them, being excluded means stress, frustration, and sadness.

 Social adaptation is an important aspect in college. It is the ability to live

and express oneself according to social restrictions and cultural demands.

Knowing oneself is an important weapon everyone should strive for, such

weapon that could be use to socially adapt. Our emotions greatly affect our personality and our whole as individual.
The intention of this study is to relate the importance of social adaptation

to freshmen students of De La Salle University-Dasmarias for their survival and to provide relatable facts that would guide them to socially adapt.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study is to know how college freshmen students socially adapt, view, and cope to changes that are part of college. The purpose of this study is to answer this question: What are the effects of social adaptation to our study habits and approach to others in both positive and negative way?

S C O P E A N D L I M I T A T I O N

This study focuses on the effects of social adaptation on both sides of the study. Due to the limited time given to us and because of the broadness of our topic, this study will no longer discuss other related topics such as ways of coping to changes, what event affect the view of an individual to his/her surrounding.

 There would be instances that these topics are included but we would not thoroughly expound on it. This is done to give emphasis on the effects of social adaptation as the main topic of the research. This study would be most relevant to freshmen college students who are the prime subject of the topic.

S I G N I F I C A N C E O F T H E S T U D Y

College Freshmen Students.

This research paper would be able to help freshmen students in college because this provides the freshmen college students an information that will help the freshmen students know what is the importance of social adaptation and what are the effects of these in both positive and negative way.

Guidance Counselors and Professors.

Guidance counselors and professors of college freshmen students would benefit from this study because they would be able to use make use of the information to know and understand the emotions and attitudes of freshmen students towards their classmates and studies.

 Future Researchers.
This study is crucial for future researchers to make similar studies because social adaptation is a very broad topic and this will need more time to study all the sides and aspects of social adaptation.

Definition of Terms
Adaptation Change in behavior of a person or group in response to new or modified surroundings. Adolescent - transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood Development - a progression from a simpler or lower to a more advanced, mature, or complex form or stage.

 Emotionassociated with mood, temperament, personality and disposition, and motivation. Emotional Maladjustment- Inability to adjust to the demands of interpersonal relationships and the stresses of daily living. Environment- surroundings of an object. Freshmen - Slang plural frosh (or freshmeat) is a first-year student in secondary school or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves Norms- average standard of achievement on a test for a selected group.

 Social Adaptation - The ability to live and express oneself according to social restrictions and cultural demands Transition a change of one place or state or stage to another University - is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects.

Related Studies and Related Literature

A D A P T A T I O N

The idea of adaptation stems from Selyes (1936) general adaptation syndrome, in which a state of adaptation or adjustment must occur following a stressful experience as a state of alarm cannot be maintained over a long period without causing exhaustion. To adapt to their surrounding must cope environment, with and an

individual

manage

problems, challenges, and demands in his or her daily life.

The performance of the stage adaptation period

Excitement Phase
The success of college entrance examination, so that students enter school at a later period are still immersed in the joy of being excited. At this stage, the mood is often active, eager to know the students and the surrounding environment, the future of learning life is full of selfconfidence and fantasy, but this time right will encounter difficulties and problems in the lack of adequate mental preparation.

 Confused Period of
Study into the normal track after the encounter all kinds of unexpected difficulties and problems, which are loss, anxiety, low self-esteem, anguish and confusion, mental imbalance, and some students have even suspect that their qualities and abilities.

Adjustment Period
Difficulties and problems encountered by students, after a period of confusion and depression will then recover. Through reflection, the students will re-summon the courage to move forward, establish objective of the struggle to find root of the problem, determine the appropriate measures to carry out new exploration and adjustment, and continuously acquire new progress and experience.

 Stable Period
Through the subjective efforts to resolve the problem of not adapting familiar with and adapt to the new environment, straighten out its own place in the collective, emotional calm and mental balance, relations tend to co-ordination, learning, life orderly.

Common 'suited' Mental Performance

Geographical Barriers feeling of homesickness
Homesick, almost every freshman will encounter in the field,

because of miss home, my parents were the secondary school life and old friends, often distracted, it is difficult to concentrate on learning. With the adaptation to the environment, the formation of a collective class, age, growth and grade promotion, homesick feelings slowly fading. Usually the first one to return to school after the winter the situation will be greatly improved.

 The contrast between the ideal and the reality - a sense

of disillusionment.
Some students could not admit to their favorite professional or schools, so difficult to achieve career aspirations. Some students enter the university to re-evaluate their own professional interests and their own conditions, and found that the professional is inconsistent with the actual study, the resulting frustration.

An ideal 'break' - a sense of confusion

Achieve the objective of the university entrance exam, some students lost and the pursuit of new goals, there 'an ideal interim period', unwilling to learn, making progress, doing nothing, tired of life.

 Learning to compete - a sense of crisis

Students are learning in middle school, the leader, but will find that

access to university study and intense competition, to achieve outstanding results in no easy task.
For various reasons, some students struggling to learn, poor

performance, psychological generate a sense of crisis, there has been anxious or pessimistic mood. This should not be complaining, we can not give up on them, but need to seriously find out the reasons to improve the learning methods, change from passive to active.

Materials and Methods

R E S E A R C H D E S I G N

In the research we are conducting we use the approach of both qualitative and quantitative approach.

Our topic focuses on human behavior, this approach is the proper approach to be use.

This type of research is a flexible one that can be used if your research topic is too broad to be answered by yes or no thus it can be an open ended research.

 Qualitative research uses different

approach of data gathering, all of which added information to

further support the study.

R E S P O N D E N T S

One Hundred (100) college freshmen students from De

La Salle University-Dasmarias participated in this study (n=100).

Participants ranged from 16-17 years old.

In that participants we will be able to get information

that will help to support the study we are conducting.

From the information that is presented, we will be able

to determine if there were significant differences between the groups based on gender and place of residence.

Methodology
This research was conducted by means of survey. The researchers prepared a survey- questionnaire which aims to gather information from different respondents about their experiences in dealing with their new environment as they enter their first year in college life. The researcher also gets some information by using other books as reference. The researchers also used internet to gather more information related to the topic they are going to discuss.

Research Materials
The survey questionnaire was used as the main data-gathering

instrument for this study.

This

survey

questionnaire

contained

information

about

the

respondents and questions where they will share their opinions about certain issues. The survey explored the perceptions of 1st year students on their social adaptation, particularly during their first few weeks in college.
The survey also contains questions that identify the positive and

negative effects of social adaptation on 1st year students.

Results and Discussion

 The result of the survey-questionnaire that was distributed to the respondents will be presented in this part.

Our respondents are the college freshmen students that came from different colleges of De La Salle University-Dasmarias because our study is about the social adaptation of college freshmen students.

Distribution of Respondents According to College

CLE CIH CO S CO E CLA CEA T CB A 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Respondents According to Gender

Female

Male

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

What did you feel during your first day at school?

excited

nervous

shy

scared

What made you most excited as you enter college?

Meeting new professors 12%

Studying 35%

Meeting new friends 53%

Do you have any preparations for college?

Yes 29%

No 71%

Were you able to adapt to your new surroundings?

No 15%

Yes 85%

Is having friend important for you to survive college?

No 10%

Yes 90%

Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendation

Summary
The primary objective of this study is to examine how college freshmen

students socially adapt and view the changes that are part of college. Social adaptation is an important aspect in college. It is the ability to live and express oneself according to social restrictions and cultural demands.

Entering college requires youths to face multiple transitions, including

changes in their living arrangements, academic environments, and friendship networks, while adapting to greater independence and responsibility in their personal and academic lives.

 The analysis done using official data gathered through

other references shows that the teenagers think that acceptance from peers are the primary goal for them in their lives. Others would do everything their peer wants, in order for them not to be excluded in the group. Interestingly, a positive effect of social

adaptation is that when they successfully adapted to their friends it may lead to individuals becoming more successful and orderly in both their studies and social life.

 Analysis of data from the survey-questionnaire collected from a hundred

students from De La Salle University-Dasmarias showed that meeting new friends is what students look forward to in entering college; it seems to be that having many friends would be their prime goal.

How we are seen by others are important, but if we can know ourselves

more it would be a great tool to socially adapt because if we are happy about whom we are this would somehow reflect positively in our attitude towards others.

C O N C L U S I O N S

The researchers got a four top answers in related on how did the respondents feel during their first day in school. And these are as follows:

Being Excited TOP ANSWER (46%) Being nervous (32%) Being shy (10%) Being scared - (9%)

Most of the respondents are very excited to meet new friends rather than to study. 71% of them said that they dont have any preparation for entering college and 29% of them said that they are prepared which helps them more to adapt in their new surroundings. While doing the research, the researchers also find that some of the respondents doesnt have any preparation in entering college, having friends is one way for them to survive college life and to adapt into their new surroundings.

Recommendation
In connection with the conclusion said above, the researchers recommend the following:
To College Freshmen Students, they should learn to allot some of their time to prepare in entering college life. In that manner, they will be able to adapt easily in their new surroundings, and for them to know the importance of adaptation, especially in social adaptation, in both positive and negative ways. To the Guidance Counsellors and Professor, try to understand the emotions and attitudes of freshmen students towards their classmates and studies to be able to help the freshmen students cope up to their new surroundings. To the Future Researcher, even though social adaptation is a very broad topic and this will need more time to study all the sides and aspects of social adaptation, may this research could serve as a good help for the future researchers be able to continue or enhance this study to help more freshmen students in social adaptation in order for them to succeed.

Social Adaptation of College Freshmen Students

Erika Hatakeyama ; Archie Fe Limboy ; Emely Flor Rizon ; Kevin Gil Soriano

Introduction

 Attending a university for the first time can be a stressful experience for many new college students. The unfamiliarity of university life as individuals make the transition to adulthood can challenge an individuals personal

security, need for acceptance, need for comfort, and social support network. As a result, many incoming freshmen may have difficulty adapting to university life.

 Adaptation is the state of adjustment between an

organism or a social group and its environment as is favorable to existence and growth, or the process be which unity comes into, and continues in this favorable relation.

To many adolescents, how they are seen by peers is the

most important aspect of their lives. Some adolescents will go along anything, just to be included as a member of the group. To them, being excluded means stress, frustration, and sadness.

 Social adaptation is an important aspect in college. It is the ability to live

and express oneself according to social restrictions and cultural demands.

Knowing oneself is an important weapon everyone should strive for, such

weapon that could be use to socially adapt. Our emotions greatly affect our personality and our whole as individual.
The intention of this study is to relate the importance of social adaptation

to freshmen students of De La Salle University-Dasmarias for their survival and to provide relatable facts that would guide them to socially adapt.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study is to know how college freshmen students socially adapt, view, and cope to changes that are part of college. The purpose of this study is to answer this question: What are the effects of social adaptation to our study habits and approach to others in both positive and negative way?

S C O P E A N D L I M I T A T I O N

This study focuses on the effects of social adaptation on both sides of the study. Due to the limited time given to us and because of the broadness of our topic, this study will no longer discuss other related topics such as ways of coping to changes, what event affect the view of an individual to his/her surrounding.

 There would be instances that these topics are included but we would not thoroughly expound on it. This is done to give emphasis on the effects of social adaptation as the main topic of the research. This study would be most relevant to freshmen college students who are the prime subject of the topic.

S I G N I F I C A N C E O F T H E S T U D Y

College Freshmen Students.

This research paper would be able to help freshmen students in college because this provides the freshmen college students an information that will help the freshmen students know what is the importance of social adaptation and what are the effects of these in both positive and negative way.

Guidance Counselors and Professors.

Guidance counselors and professors of college freshmen students would benefit from this study because they would be able to use make use of the information to know and understand the emotions and attitudes of freshmen students towards their classmates and studies.

 Future Researchers.
This study is crucial for future researchers to make similar studies because social adaptation is a very broad topic and this will need more time to study all the sides and aspects of social adaptation.

Definition of Terms
Adaptation Change in behavior of a person or group in response to new or modified surroundings. Adolescent - transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood Development - a progression from a simpler or lower to a more advanced, mature, or complex form or stage.

 Emotionassociated with mood, temperament, personality and disposition, and motivation. Emotional Maladjustment- Inability to adjust to the demands of interpersonal relationships and the stresses of daily living. Environment- surroundings of an object. Freshmen - Slang plural frosh (or freshmeat) is a first-year student in secondary school or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves Norms- average standard of achievement on a test for a selected group.

 Social Adaptation - The ability to live and express oneself according to social restrictions and cultural demands Transition a change of one place or state or stage to another University - is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects.

Related Studies and Related Literature

A D A P T A T I O N

The idea of adaptation stems from Selyes (1936) general adaptation syndrome, in which a state of adaptation or adjustment must occur following a stressful experience as a state of alarm cannot be maintained over a long period without causing exhaustion. To adapt to their surrounding must cope environment, with and an

individual

manage

problems, challenges, and demands in his or her daily life.

The performance of the stage adaptation period

Excitement Phase
The success of college entrance examination, so that students enter school at a later period are still immersed in the joy of being excited. At this stage, the mood is often active, eager to know the students and the surrounding environment, the future of learning life is full of selfconfidence and fantasy, but this time right will encounter difficulties and problems in the lack of adequate mental preparation.

 Confused Period of
Study into the normal track after the encounter all kinds of unexpected difficulties and problems, which are loss, anxiety, low self-esteem, anguish and

confusion, mental imbalance, and some students have even suspect that their qualities and abilities.

Adjustment Period
Difficulties and problems encountered by students, after a period of confusion and depression will then recover. Through reflection, the students will re-summon the courage to move forward, establish objective of the struggle to find root of the problem, determine the appropriate measures to carry out new exploration and adjustment, and continuously acquire new progress and experience.

 Stable Period
Through the subjective efforts to resolve the problem of not adapting familiar with and adapt to the new environment, straighten out its own place in the collective, emotional calm and mental balance, relations tend to co-

ordination, learning, life orderly.

Common 'suited' Mental Performance

Geographical Barriers feeling of homesickness
Homesick,

almost

every

freshman

will

encounter

in

the

field, because of miss home, my parents were the secondary school life and old friends, often distracted, it is difficult to concentrate on learning. With the adaptation to the environment, the formation of a collective class, age, growth and grade promotion, homesick feelings slowly fading. Usually the first one to return to school after the winter the situation will be greatly improved.

 The contrast between the ideal and the reality - a sense

of disillusionment.
Some students could not admit to their favorite professional or schools, so difficult to achieve career aspirations. Some students enter the university to re-evaluate their own professional interests and their own conditions, and found that the professional is inconsistent with the actual study, the resulting frustration.

An ideal 'break' - a sense of confusion

Achieve the objective of the university entrance exam, some students lost and the pursuit of new goals, there 'an ideal interim period', unwilling to learn, making progress, doing nothing, tired of life.

 Learning to compete - a sense of crisis

Students are learning in middle school, the leader, but will find that

access to university study and intense competition, to achieve outstanding results in no easy task.
For various reasons, some students struggling to learn, poor

performance, psychological generate a sense of crisis, there has been anxious or pessimistic mood. This should not be

complaining, we can not give up on them, but need to seriously find out the reasons to improve the learning methods, change from passive to active.

Materials and Methods

R E S E A R C H D E S I G N

In the research we are conducting we use the approach of both qualitative and quantitative approach.

Our topic focuses on human behavior, this approach is the proper approach to be use.

This type of research is a flexible one that can be used if your research topic is too broad to be answered by yes or no thus it can be an open ended research.

 Qualitative research uses different

approach of data gathering, all of which added information to

further support the study.

R E S P O N D E N T S

One Hundred (100) college freshmen students from De

La Salle University-Dasmarias participated in this study (n=100).

Participants ranged from 16-17 years old.

In that participants we will be able to get information

that will help to support the study we are conducting.

From the information that is presented, we will be able

to determine if there were significant differences between the groups based on gender and place of residence.

Methodology
This research was conducted by means of survey. The researchers prepared a survey- questionnaire which aims to gather information from different respondents about their experiences in dealing with their new environment as they enter their first year in college life. The researcher also gets some information by using other books as reference. The researchers also used internet to gather more information related to the topic they are going to discuss.

Research Materials
The survey questionnaire was used as the main data-gathering

instrument for this study.

This

survey

questionnaire

contained

information

about

the

respondents and questions where they will share their opinions about certain issues. The survey explored the perceptions of 1st year students on their social adaptation, particularly during their first few weeks in college.
The survey also contains questions that identify the positive and

negative effects of social adaptation on 1st year students.

Results and Discussion

 The result of the survey-questionnaire that was distributed to the respondents will be presented in this part.

Our respondents are the college freshmen students that came from different colleges of De La Salle University-Dasmarias because our study is about the social adaptation of college freshmen students.

Distribution of Respondents According to College

CLE CIH CO S CO E CLA CEA T CB A 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Respondents According to Gender

Female

Male

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

What did you feel during your first day at school?

excited

nervous

shy

scared

What made you most excited as you enter college?

Meeting new professors 12%

Studying 35%

Meeting new friends 53%

Do you have any preparations for college?

Yes 29%

No 71%

Were you able to adapt to your new surroundings?

No 15%

Yes 85%

Is having friend important for you to survive college?

No 10%

Yes 90%

Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendation

Summary
The primary objective of this study is to examine how college freshmen

students socially adapt and view the changes that are part of college. Social adaptation is an important aspect in college. It is the ability to live and express oneself according to social restrictions and cultural demands.

Entering college requires youths to face multiple transitions, including

changes in their living arrangements, academic environments, and friendship networks, while adapting to greater independence and responsibility in their personal and academic lives.

 The analysis done using official data gathered through

other references shows that the teenagers think that acceptance from peers are the primary goal for them in their lives. Others would do everything their peer wants, in order for them not to be excluded in the group. Interestingly, a positive effect of social

adaptation is that when they successfully adapted to their friends it may lead to individuals becoming more successful and orderly in both their studies and social life.

 Analysis of data from the survey-questionnaire collected from a hundred

students from De La Salle University-Dasmarias showed that meeting new friends is what students look forward to in entering college; it seems to be that having many friends would be their prime goal.

How we are seen by others are important, but if we can know ourselves

more it would be a great tool to socially adapt because if we are happy about whom we are this would somehow reflect positively in our attitude towards others.

C O N C L U S I O N S

The researchers got a four top answers in related on how did the respondents feel during their first day in school. And these are as follows:

Being Excited TOP ANSWER (46%) Being nervous (32%) Being shy (10%) Being scared - (9%)

Most of the respondents are very excited to meet new friends rather than to study. 71% of them said that they dont have any preparation for entering college and 29% of them said that they are prepared which helps them more to adapt in their new surroundings. While doing the research, the researchers also find that some of the respondents doesnt have any preparation in entering college, having friends is one way for them to survive college life and to adapt into their new surroundings.

Recommendation
In connection with the conclusion said above, the researchers recommend the following:
To College Freshmen Students, they should learn to allot some of their time to prepare in entering college life. In that manner, they will be able to adapt easily in their new surroundings, and for them to know the importance of adaptation, especially in social adaptation, in both positive and negative ways. To the Guidance Counsellors and Professor, try to understand the emotions and attitudes of freshmen students towards their classmates and studies to be able to help the freshmen students cope up to their new surroundings. To the Future Researcher, even though social adaptation is a very broad topic and this will need more time to study all the sides and aspects of social adaptation, may this research could serve as a good help for the future researchers be able to continue or enhance this study to help more freshmen students in social adaptation in order for them to succeed.