Longitudinal Associations Between Academic and Social Adjustment Among Chinese College Freshmen: The Mediating Role of Depressive Symptoms

This study investigated the longitudinal associations between academic and social adjustment and the mediating role of depressive symptoms among Chinese college freshmen using a three-wave longitudinal design. A total of 1183 freshmen (467 males; Mean age = 18.61 years at Wave 1) from eight Chinese universities participated in this study. Using cross-lagged panel analysis, the results showed that academic adjustment predicted increases in social adjustment over time, but not vice versa. Academic adjustment, but not social adjustment, predicted decreases in depressive symptoms over time. Depressive symptoms predicted worsened academic and social adjustment over time. Longitudinal mediation analysis showed that depressive symptoms mediated the effect of academic adjustment on social adjustment over time among Chinese college freshmen. These findings highlight the contributions of academic adjustment to social adjustment for Chinese freshmen and emphasize the need for Chinese colleges to promote freshmen’s academic adjustment at the beginning of college life.