Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire Among Iranian Freshmen

Abstract

Background: Freshmen have to face different requirements, such as deciding on a future job, establishing a relationship with the other gender, adapting to a new environment, building new relationships, being away from family, and experiencing different courses and teachers. These different demands might make this period one of the most stressful times and turn the adaptation process into a difficult stage. Therefore, it is necessary to provide appropriate tools to determine the levels and difficulties of adaptation in various fields. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of Baker and Siryk 67-Question Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) to provide an appropriate tool for diagnosing freshmen’s problems. Methods: The current study is a methodological study with a descriptive cross-sectional design. Given the construct structure of the questionnaire, it was tried to select 445 freshmen across different undergraduate fields using a multi-stage sampling method. Then, SACQ, Brief Psychological Adjustment-6, the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults - Short Version, and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered. Then, confirmatory factor analysis, convergent and divergent validity, and Cronbach's alpha were calculated for data analysis. Results: The results showed that the internal consistency coefficient of this questionnaire for all components was higher than 0.70, and it indicated that the tool was a suitable one. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the 4-factor model of original developers had a better fit than the one-factor and six-factor models in this sample. Conclusions: Since the factor structure of this scale was approved, it could be used to measure adaptation to college to determine and identify troubled or at-risk freshmen.