Childhood and Marketing: A Briefing

The 
present
 briefing
 overviews
 and
 samples
 a 
number 
of 
issues
 relating 
to
 childhood
 and 
business
 marketing

The College Transition: What Changes, Who Changes, and Why?

To assess changes in student behavior between high school and college, and any factors contributing to behavioral changes, eight students from the University of New Hampshire were interviewed. To determine if changes in environment, or a greater distance from home, lead to greater changes in behavior, half of participants interviewed were in-state students and half were out-of-state students. Participants were interviewed on their opinions toward college and differences between high school and college in four areas: relationships, alcohol use, academics, and group participation. Interviews with participants were recorded and later transcribed. The transcriptions were then compared, looking for themes both within and among the interviews. The results showed that there were changes in these four areas but there were no differences in changes between in-state students and out-of-state students. On average, students’ grades stayed the same from high school to college and participation in group activities decreased from high school to college. The most common change was an increase in alcohol use from high school to college. Changes in behavior seemed unrelated to whether or not a student was in-state or out-ofstate. Changes in behavior seemed to be, in part, influenced by social relations, and also the freedom that comes with living away from home