Homesickness at College: Its Impact on Academic Performance and Retention

• In Event: Factors Influencing Retention in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

This study aims at understanding homesickness among first-year, first-time in college students as measured during the first six weeks’ of college (e.g., transitional period). In particular, the study identifies the factors that exerted significant influence on homesickness and explores the impact of students’ homesick experience on their academic performance and retention in the first academic year. A quantitative mode of inquiry was adopted, using institutional and secondary survey data from three cohorts of a research-intensive university. Factor analyses and multiple regressions were the main analytical tools in the study.

Authors

• Jie Sun, Southern Methodist University

• Linda Serra Hagedorn, Iowa State University