The Relationship between Student Resources and Identity Distress

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Social, Emotional, Personality

Abstract

Attending college can be a large and difficult transition for many college students, affecting not only physical and mental health, but also identity. Previous research has found that emerging adults may experience identity distress due to the inability to integrate the different parts of their identities (Samuolis et al., 2014), and this can be particularly true for those struggling with transition to college. Samuolis and colleagues (2015) found that 12.4% of college students in their sample were diagnosed or treated for anxiety, 10.7% for depression, and 1.2% for substance use or addiction. In addition, identity distress was higher for those diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Other factors that can add stress to the transition and increase identity distress include LGBT status (Wright & Perry, 2006) or first generation in college (Chang et al., 2020). The recent COVID-19 pandemic might be an additional stressor affecting identity distress. The aim of this study was to examine some of the factors that might exacerbate the identity distress associated with transition to college. College students (N = 397) completed an anonymous online survey battery for credit in one of their courses (mean age = 21.39, SD = 5.61, 78.8% female). The breakdown of the ethnicity/race includes 51.1% Caucasian, 29% Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino, 13.6% Black, 6% Asian or Pacific Islander, and .3% other. The survey battery included demographic, student resources, and student barrier questions, as well as the Identity Distress Survey (Berman et al., 2004). Significantly higher scores on identity distress were found among those who reported a mental health condition (t(395) = 2.86, p = .005), identified with the LGBTQ community (t(395) = 4.72, p < .001), and identifying as a minority group member (t(393) = 2.21, p = .028). In addition, those who reported feeling that COVID-19 had impacted their education plans (47.4% of the sample), also reported greater identity distress (t(395) = 4.31, p < .001). On the other hand, those who reported having a physical health condition and those who were first generation college students did not have significantly higher identity distress scores. Further analyses will also be reported and discussed.

Authors

• Bailey Wagaman, University of Central Florida
  Presenting Author

• Emalee Kerr, University of Central Florida
  Non-Presenting Author

• Omelia Dhanraj, University of Central Florida at Sanford-Lake
  Non-Presenting Author

• Martha Hubertz, University of Central Florida
  Non-Presenting Author

• Steven L. Berman, University of Central Florida
  Non-Presenting Author