Predictors of undergraduate students’ university support service use during the first year of university

ABSTRACT

University support services can be a beneficial resource for students coping with personal stressors. This study investigated the predictors of service use by undergraduate students during their first year at university. Participants completed self-report measures of problem-solving effectiveness, psychological distress and perceived social support (availability and satisfaction) at the start of the academic year, frequency of exposure to stressors half-way through the first semester and support service use at the end of the first and second semesters. Perceived availability of social support and frequency of exposure to stressors predicted service use. Additional analyses examined change in psychological distress across the first semester. Implications of these findings are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Social support
• stress
• psychological distress
• problem-solving
• university students

Acknowledgement

I thank Laura Davis, Dolapo ‘Desiree’ Elebiyo and Emma Fahlen for their research assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Fay Julal, PhD (Psychology) is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. Previously, she was a Senior Lecturer at Southampton Solent University, where the data for this study were collected. Her research interests are in adult attachment, caregiving and social support. Her teaching focuses on social development and personality.

ORCID

F.S. Julal http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0983-4266

Notes

1. The author originally planned to collect data from the students across their first year; however, only 35 participants (20% return rate) returned to complete Time 4, at the end of the academic year.

2. Correlations between the PSI subscales and number of services used: Problem-solving confidence (r = .087), approach-avoidance (r = –.208), and perceived control (r = .103), ps > .148.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a School Fellowship awarded by Southampton Solent University.