THE ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING ON FIRST-YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ADJUSTMENT DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The pandemic situation of covid-19 has affected educational sector including  university learning system. The transition period from offline learning to online  learning cause some challenges for university students. First-year students have  more challenges in studying during this pandemic situation because they also have  to adjust with the transition period from high school to university. Students  adjustment is one of the most important factors that affect first-year students’ success in university. Some researches support that psychological well-being is  positively associated with student adjustment in university. Psychological well being is a psychological condition when people can function positively based on  their experiences and also how they perceive and reflect on their life process so that it could turn into a goal to achieve. This research aims to investigate the effect  of psychological well-being on first-year students’ adjustment to university life  during Covid-19 situation. Participants in this study were 168 first-year university  students in Surabaya. Data were analyzed using regression analysis. The result shows that psychological well-being affects first-year student adjustment to university during covid-19 situation. Self-acceptance as one of the psychological  well-being dimensions correlates stronger to students adjustment comparing to  other psychological well-being dimensions such as environmental mastery,  positive relationship, autonomy, purpose in life and personal growth. The results  in this study supports previous researches which highlight the effect of  psychological well-being on students’ adjustment to university. It is recommended  that the university should conduct programs for first-year students that develop  students’ psychological well-being in order to increase their adjustment to university life.