Students' social relationships and their links to university transition

Abstract

• Students can find the transition to higher education difficult (Hussey & Smith, 2010). • Research shows that developing good relationships with peers can help students to integrate into and feel part of university life (Maunder et al, 2010; Pittman & Richmond, 2008). • Feeling isolated, or not making effective social connections, has been found to be important in early withdrawals from university (Wilcox et al, 2005). • We would therefore expect to find a relationship between the quality of students’ relationships with their peers; their self-reported adjustment to university life; and their sense of membership to the university