Dimensions and Determinants of Psychological Adaptation Among Chinese College Students

Abstract

Psychological adaptation is recognized as a vital regulator and indicator of mental well-being. In recent years, mental crises among college students in China have primarily been attributed to psychological maladaptation. Therefore, this study aims to explore the different dimensions and determinants of psychological adaptation among Chinese college students. A narrative-style systematic review was undertaken in accordance with the Prisma statement's principles. The research sample consisted of online database published in the time-series (2015-2024) about college students' general and psychological adaptation. The analytical results indicate that the psychological adaptation encompasses five prevalent dimensions: academic adaptation, environmental adaptation, interpersonal adaptation, self-adaptation, and emotional adaptation. It was noted that the factors which affect psychological can be categorized intrinsically at two levels: (a) internal and external factors; (b) micro factors, meso factors and macro factors. The study concludes that the college students' psychological adaptation is a multifaceted subject that needs to be considered from multiple perspectives for better understanding. Self-efficacy, also known as self-regulation, is a crucial and fundamental element which influences psychological adaptation. On the other hand, social support as an external factor has a significant effect at multiple levels including the micro, meso, and macro levels. The thorough evaluation of literature, provided us vast and inter-linked approaches for psychological adaptation analysis of an individual or college student. Variably adopted by different researchers, with the same purpose to achieve psychological health integrated into an individual’s life.