Social adjustment to college: Communication apprehension and social network development among college students

This paper reports the results of a panel study which took place over four semesters. We hypothesize that high CAs will have significantly smaller social networks than moderate or low CAs during the two first semester measurement periods, but those differences should decrease by the fourth semester measurement period. The hypothesis was partially supported for the participants' number of close friends, but it was not supported for the size of the participants' general social network. This apparently reflects the ability of low CA's as compared to moderate or high CA's to more quickly adjust to a new social environment