Emotion Regulation and Hypothetical Risk-Taking as Predictors of College Adaptation

• Published in: North American journal of psychology 2021-12, Vol.23 (4), p.583-600
• Main Authors: Pellegrino, Alexa J, Welsh, Marilyn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation; Adjustment; Behavior; College students; Decision making; Educational aspects; Emotion regulation; Emotional regulation; Emotions; Ethics; Gambling; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Mental health; Psychological aspects; Questionnaires; Risk-taking (Psychology); Stress; Student adjustment; Student retention; Surveys
• ISSN: 1527-7143

Adjustment to the college environment is fraught with academic, social, and financial challenges that elicit strong and fluctuating emotions requiring effective regulation for optimal functioning. Moreover, the new-found independence of college life provides opportunities for risk taking of all types, both maladaptive and adaptive. The current study explores both emotion regulation and risk-taking as predictors of college adaptation, and the potential mediating role of risk-taking in the pathway between emotional regulation and adjustment. Self-reports of emotion regulation, college adaptation, and risk-taking were administered online to 93 female and male college students. Adaptive emotion regulation strategies predicted better college adjustment, and difficulties with regulation were associated with lower levels of adjustment. Emotion regulation challenges predicted a greater likelihood of taking dangerous health and safety risks, and positive regulation strategies predicted taking more adaptive social and recreational risks. Emotion regulation difficulties also were associated with a greater likelihood of ethical risk taking, and this type of risky behavior predicted decreased college adaptation. However, ethical risk taking did not serve as a significant mediator in the pathway. The findings that both emotion regulation and ethical risk taking predict college adaptation may help inform interventions that can facilitate a healthy adjustment to college.