THESIS 7 ‘. MICHIGAN sure umvensm I U a) mu l in Hill llllll(lllllllllll 1 3193014103208 This is to certify that the thesis entitled The Effect of a Peer-Mentoring Program on the Social and Personal Adjustment of College Freshmen Student-Athletes presented by Shaine Eric Henert has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for M.S. degrge in PEES Major professor a Date ”€245,612 g/VX‘S' 0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution LIBRARY Michigan State Unlverslty PLACE N RETURN BOX to remove We checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE JUL 1 4 1997 {Lhflk LL‘IlL! ' l [EB “2005' u l I MSU le An Afflrmetlve ActiorVEquel Opponmlty lnetltulon Wm. THE EFFECT OF A PEER-MENTORING PROGRAM ON THE SOCIAL AND PERSONAL ADJUSTMENT OF COLLEGE FRESHMEN. STUDENT -ATHLETES Shaine Eric Henert A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Physical Education and Exercise Science 1995 ABSTRACT THE EFFECT OF A PEER-MENTORING PROGRAM ON THE SOCIAL AND PERSONAL ADJUSTMENT OF COLLEGE FRESHMEN STUDENT-ATHLETES By Shaine Eric Henert The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an athlete—mentoring program on freshmen student-athletes’ transition from high school to college. It was hypothesized that poorly-adjusted freshmen student-athletes receiving mentors would show more positive increases in adjustment than poorly-adjusted freshmen who did not receive mentors and two groups of well-adjusted freshmen. The adjustment to college life was measured by selected subscales of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) and the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ). The subjects were 45 male and female freshman student-athletes from selected intercollegiate sports. Tests were administered at the beginning and end of an 8-week intervention program. Pretest scores from the SACQ were used to divide freshman athletes into well- and poorly-adjusted groups. The results did not support the hypotheses, however, important trends were found. Qualitative data analysis revealed a complexity of adjustment concerns. DEDICATION This project is dedicated to the five people who mean the most to me. To my Ma and Pops, who have provided me with the tools, the love, and the support to reach my goals. Thank you for reminding me that everything will be “okay”. To my wife, Jill, who was always there to provide me with the motivation I needed to face this project. To my brothers, Tim and Chet, who have always been there for me when I needed them most. I love you all very much. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This has been by far the most difficult project that I have faced in my life. During the thesis process I have often doubted myself and the goals that I have set for myself. However, with the help of the following people, I am happy to say that I have completed my thesis and I am moving toward new goals. The biggest thanks must go to my advisor, my mentor, my friend, Dr. Marty Ewing, who has always been there for me with or without an appointment. My only regret is that I will no longer be under the direct supervision of such a wonderful person. I would like to thank my other committee members, Dr. Yevonne Smith and Dr. Rick Albrecht, who were more than willing to accommodate my special situation. Their experiences and suggestions provided me with the insight that I needed to enhance this project. I would like to thank all of the coaches who agreed to allow me into their team settings to ask questions and collect data. I would also like to thank all of the student- athletes who were willing to take part in this project. I truly appreciate their patience and interest in my study, for without them I would not have been able to answer my research questions. A special thanks to Sean Quackenbuish, Alex Wiesner, Drew Scales, John Fitzpatrick, Trevor Harvey, Roxann Dahl, and Sean Ebert for helping with the extensive data collection and analysis that was required by this study. You are great friends. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Ease LIST OF TABLES ................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES .................................. viii CHAPTER ONE .................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ........................... 1 Consequences of College Transition ................. 1 Student-Athletes vs. Non Student-Athletes .............. 2 Personal/Emotional Adjustment ................... 3 Social Adjustment .......................... 4 Role of Social Support ........................ 5 Support Programs for Student-Athletes ............... 7 Athlete-Mentor Program ....................... 8 Need for the Study .......................... 10 Purpose of the Study ......................... 10 Specific Aims ............................ 10 Hypotheses .............................. 1 1 Corollary Questions ......................... 12 Definitions .............................. 12 Delimitations and Assumptions .................... 13 Limitations .............................. l4 Implications of the Study ....................... 15 CHAPTER 'IWO .................................... 16 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...................... 16 Transition ............................... 16 Role of Social Support ........................ 18 Counseling .............................. 24 Mentoring ............................... 27 Measuring College Adjustment .................... 29 CHAPTER THREE .................................. 32 METHOD ................................ 32 Subjects ................................ 32 Instruments .............................. 32 Research Design ........................... 39 Data Collection Procedures ...................... 40 Treatment of Data ........................... 43 CHAPTER FOUR .................................. 46 RESULTS ............................... 46 Demographics ............................ 46 SACQ and OSIQ subscales ...................... 49 Athlete-Mentor Interaction Forms .................. 67 Summary ............................... 70 CHAPTER FIVE ............. ‘ ...................... 72 DISCUSSION ............................. 72 Mentor Program ........................... 72 Explanation of Findings/Qualitative Results ............. 73 Methodological Explanations ..................... 82 Conceptual Explanations ....................... 84 Implications .............................. 85 Recommendations .......................... 85 APPENDICES ' APPENDIX A: Background Questionnaire for Mentors ....... 88 APPENDIX B: Background Questionnaire for Freshmen ....... 89 APPENDIX C: Athlete-Mentor Interaction Form ........... 91 APPENDD( D: Offer Self-Image Questionnaire ............ 92 APPENDIX E: Student Adaptation To College Questionnaire . . . . 95 APPENDIX F: Human Subjects Consent Form ........... 97 APPENDIX G: Social Resource List ................. 98 APPENDIX H: Questions for Freshmen Phone Interviews ...... 104 APPENDIX I: Raw Data File ..................... 105 REFERENCES .................................... 1 10 MAWN 10 11 LIST OF TABLES OSIQ Reliability Coefficients for Selected Subscles of Offer et al.’s (1984) Study ......................... OSIQ Interscale Correlations for the 16-19 Year Old Males ........ OSIQ Interscale Correlations for the 16-19 Year Old Females ....... Characteristics of Freshmen Student-Athletes ............... Intercorrelations Between Pretest Subscale Scores for the SACQ and the OSIQ .......................... Means and Standard Deviations for the Pretest Scores of SelectedSACQSubscales Means and Standard Deviations for the Pretest Scores of Selected OSIQ Subscales .......................... Intercorrelations Between Difference Subscale Scores for the SACQ and OSIQ ............................ Means and Standard Deviations for the Difference Scores of the SACQ Subscales ............................ Means and Standard Deviations for the Difference Scores of the OSIQ Subscales ............................. Activities Freshmen and Mentors Participated in and Percentages of Those Who Participated ................ Base 35 36 54 57 60 63 68 1 LIST OF FIGURES The 2x2 (Treatment Group x Adjustment Group) design and the corresponding number of subjects for each group used in the current investigation viii REEL? 4O CHAPTER ONE Introduction Entering college is an exciting time for most students as they experience many new things, such as, separation and independence from their home and family, attempting to establish financial responsibility, locating university resources, and choosing classes and majors. It is a time for students to leave home to take up residency at a university where there is a need to adjust to a profound break with aspects of a previous lifestyle and enter a totally new environment which involves residential as well as academic aspects (Fisher & Hood, 1987). e ce There are many social and personal adjustments that beginning college students must make. These new students will face difficult decisions regarding living arrangements, campus clubs and organizations, fraternities/sororities, cultural activities, and new relationships. The entering freshman must also deal with the frustrations of financial aid, all-night study sessions, seminar courses, questions of self-identification, and career choices. Because of all the adjustments and new opportunities available, this period of life can be an anxious time for a young adult. Thus, it is important that programs are provided so that students experience a satisfying personal and social transition to college. The transition into college life can be a healthy experience for many individuals but some may experience stress that leads to psychological and physical disturbances. Depression, helplessness, homesickness and cognitive failure (e.g., absent—mindedness) are common occurrences during this transitional period. Fisher and Hood (1988) found that 31% of first year residential students in their study experienced homesickness and female students were found to experience higher levels of psychological disturbance and cognitive failure than male students. Therefore, this transitional period can be a traumatic time for first-year students and it can affect many areas of the student's life. Transitions involve periods of change, loss, or disruption of a prior structure or order in an individual's life (Compas, Wagner, Slavin, & Vannatta, 1986). Transitions are a part of everyone's life and it is important that these young individuals are able to progress through this period of their life as productively and efficiently as possible in order to enjoy a positive college experience. Most students have experienced some type of transition in their life, but entering college presents new challenges as well. The transition students make from high school to college is but one of the many adjustments that a late adolescent or young adult will have to endure in his/her lifetime. But now they must make the transition into college as well as adjust to the new demands that accompany the entrance into adulthood. This transition involves significant adjustments in an individual's life. For example, individuals entering adulthood are traditionally expected to take on a different level of reSponsibility that requires one to make serious life decisions impacting their personal, academic and professional futures. These responsibilities of the normal college student require good time management as well as the ability to concentrate in an often times stressful environment. These new challenges will consume most of the student's time and effort. t- l v . - There are many challenges that a typical college student experiences. But what about the student who plans to participate in intercollegiate athletics as well as perform the academic studies required of all entering freshmen? Student-athletes are subject to many demands in addition to the coursework required of all freshman students. Unlike their non- athlete peers, athletes face additional pressures, such as, adjusting to the higher demands of college athletics; a new coach‘s expectations; travel/practice/game schedules; the change from "star" status to being just one of many outstanding performers; the higher visibility and attention they receive from students and community members; and, spending breaks and/or holidays at School or at athletic events (Gibson, 1981, cited in Cooker & Caffey, 1984; Farwell & Perrone, 1983, cited in Stone & Strange, 1989). Student-athletes must also attempt to manage their academic, personal, and social lives. This makes it very difficult for them to have time to make new friends outside of their sport and attend the social activities that most students enjoy. Therefore, athletes must make adjustments while they progress through college that will affect them personally, emotionally, and socially. E 15 . l E I. The growth of the student-athletes' personal lives are often inhibited due to the fact that they have little Opportunity to interact with other students because of their busy schedules (Meyer, 1988). This lack of opportunity to socialize with other students, coupled with the fact that some athletes believe that they have little in common with the normal student (Lanning, 1982), may lead athletes to develop most peer relationships within the group of athletes in their same sport. However, athletes often find it difficult to share their personal problems with other athletes due to the competitive environment that is created. Stone and Strange (1989) found that athletes were hesitant to express one's feelings, especially personal problems, because they felt that it may be interpreted as a weakness by other athletes. Stone and Strange found this to be true more so for male student-athletes than female student-athletes, who were found to be more comfortable sharing their feelings with others. Student-athletes may also experience trouble with emotional adjustment as they participate in athletics. Most athletes who are involved in intercollegiate athletics were very talented high-school athletes who stood out from all of the rest in their area. Now, as they enter college sports, they are competing at a level of excellence that most have not experienced before. For most athletes, this realization could possibly have a considerable impact on their view of themselves. It is irnportant that these athletes are aware that they will be competing with and against other athletes with talent that matches and exceeds their own. Also, some athletes will experience an injury, perhaps career-ending, that will . threaten their identity. Friends, teammates, and others may look upon them with sympathy, but they may not be considered an integral part of their team. This can cause the athlete to experience such feelings as anger, confusion, or resentment. They have always relied on their athletic ability to define who they are and now they must find some other avenue of self-satisfaction and self-identification (Lanning, 1982). S . l 5 1. Student—athletes have to adapt to a new social environment as they participate in college athletics. The special demands on a student-athlete’s time causes an even greater problem with time management than the non student-athlete experiences. Athletic programs structure an athlete's schedule so there is time for weight training, practice, study meetings, and, sometimes, recreation. But, unfortunately, not much effort is devoted to the athlete's education in time management. Therefore, even if there is time set aside for study time, this does not mean that the student knows how to use that time effectively. The challenges that most athletes face in their social lives usually depend on the individual and the sport in which they participate. Some athletes may not be able to handle all of the attention they receive as being part of an intercollegiate athletic squad. Furthermore, sometimes the attention they receive is negative as athletes may be stereotyped as ‘dumb jocks’. Some sports may not allow the athletes much of a social life due to busy practice and game schedules. The average week of a college student-athlete often involves studying and preparing for a game and all weekend participating in an event and recuperating. And when they do get a chance for recreation they are not aware of the many things to do on their campus or in the community. The experiences mentioned above may not apply to all student-athlete populations but they are very common to most college athletic programs. Pease (1971, cited in Wittmer, Phillips, Waters, & Bostic, 1981) suggests that the problems sometimes experienced by the athlete may result from their segregation from the total educational structure (i.e., separate dorms, eating areas, modified admission standards). Stone and Strange (1989) found that varsity competition does adversely affect participation in the traditional sources of campus involvement when compared to the non athlete student . It may seem that student-athletes are given special leniency by faculty and administration, but the life of an average college student-athlete is rarely any easier than that of a non student- athlete. In fact, Bostic (1979, cited in Wittmer, Phillips, Waters, & Bostic, 1981) and Lanning (1982) found that, because of their unique situation, athletes face challenges that are different from the non studenttathlete. These challenges lie in the areas of school work, social life, and personal life. A shortcoming of most of the studies of college adjustment is that they mainly concentrate on the non student-athlete who is not involved in intercollegiate sports. Even though these non-athletes may be involved in extracurricular activities, they are not usually bound to a contractual agreement with the university that requires their participation in athletics. Another liability in college transition research is that a large portion of the studies concentrate on the academic aspects, alone. When considering the college transition, as a whole, the social network that college students create can affect all areas of the freshman student’s adjustment to college. 1 i it Sarason, Levine, Basham, and Sarason (1983) found that social support is (a) more strongly related to positive than negative life changes, (b) inversely related to psychological discomfort more so among women than men, and (c) an asset in enabling a person to persist at a task under frustrating conditions. Also, when looking at the relationship between social support and stress, Sarason (1981, cited in Sarason, et a1. 1983) found that subjects who encountered social association and acceptance by others experienced an increase in performance and a decrease in self-preoccupation as a function of social support manipulations. Therefore, social support can contribute to the overall well-being of an individual and their ability to cope with stress. Oppenheimer ( 1984) and Schwitzer, McGovern and Robbins (1991) found that students who were more vulnerable to a poor college transition benefited more from a group intervention program that focused on the universality of social adjustment stress among freshman than did students who were less vulnerable to a negative transition to college. Schwitzer et al. also found that, in addition to the supportive environment, providing these freshman students with realistic information about the college transition can significantly boost adjustment for even those at greatest risk. One question that evolves from this social support literature is, how does social support affect a transitional period? It is possible that social support provides a person with the emotional support that may enhance and maintain self-esteem and self-concept. Cohen, Mermelstein, Kamalch, and Hoberman (1985, cited in Weir & Okun, 1989) found that self-esteem social support is a unique buffer of the impact of negative life events. Hays and Oxley (1986) also found, in a study of 89 first-term students, that the intimacy level of the freshman’s networks was consistently positively related to the amount of emotional support provided by the network. Females were found to interact more frequently with their network members and to exchange more informational and emotional support than were males. Another effect of social support on college transition is that it may provide students with role models, validation, and socialization opportunities for the adoption of the new college student identity (Hirsch, 1980, cited in Sarason et al., 1983). Student-athletes may look to older athletes on their team for guidance on a host Of concerns including athletic and non-athletic matters. Those freshmen who know what to expect in the near future may have an advantage over those less fortunate. The benefits of social support have also been found in diverse racial settings. A peer network therapy program was created at Radford University (Crouse, 1985) in an attempt to form a ‘substitute family’ that offered Chicano students a supportive environment and assistance in adjusting to the changes imposed by the different surroundings of college. Participants in the program indicated an increase in pride regarding cultural heritage and that an atmosphere conducive for studying had developed. The research on the social support of African-Americans in the college environment indicates that perceived social support systems are a function of the race of the college majority. Social support systems on the predominantly Black campus assist Black men and women in their social, cultural, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual development (Hughes, 1987). But most of the larger universities that recruit black student-athletes are predominantly White. How does this affect the development of a Black student? Black students reported that nurturance, confidence building, and positive identity formation are stifled on the predominantly White campuses (Hughes, 1987). Hughes argues that, to combat these negative experiences, educators need to develop intervention strategies designed to promote values of diversity among minority and majority populations. The literature above points to numerous benefits of an individual’s social support network. These same advantages could, intuitively, be beneficial to student-athletes because they share similar experiences with the typical college student. Also, the focus of most coaches, administrators, and alumni is on the academic transition that these students make. Even though this is a legitimate concern for the student-athlete because of the requirement to maintain sufficient grades to continue participation in athletics, there are other areas of their college adjustment that need to be addressed. The social and personal adjustment that student-athletes make are just as important aspects of the whole transition process as they are for the normal student. In fact, the transition in the student-athlete’s personal and social lives not only affect their academic lives (as for all students), it also affects their athletic lives. If a person is not happy personally or with the amount and/or quality of social relationships, it makes it difficult to concentrate on one's participation in intercollegiate athletics. W An intervention program constructed to meet the special personal/emotional and social needs of the student-athlete could be beneficial to the student as they attempt to progress through their college experience. Cooker and Caffey ( 1984) conducted a study in which male student-athletes participating in intercollegiate football took part in group counseling, as well as a reading program, in an attempt to enhance athletic attitude and self- esteem. Quantitative results showed that group counseling did not produce significant differences in athletic attitude and self-esteem between the different experimental groups. However, qualitative analysis of the student-athletes' narratives showed positive benefits in problem solving, interpersonal relationships building, and expression of feeling. It was suggested that the quantitative results could have been affected by the characteristics of a football 'subculture' or the inability of the student-athletes to try out new behaviors and receive sufficient feedback due to the brevity of the group-counseling program (10 weeks). The results of this study argue for both a quantitative and qualitative approach to the study of the studentoathlete's transition to college. There are few other studies that have focused on the college transition of student-athletes. AW Measuring the transition for student-athletes is important, but what if that transition is not successful? What if a student-athlete cannot handle the pressures of either college academics, college athletics, or the social environment of college? One suggestion is the introduction of an older student-athlete to help the freshman student-athlete make the transition (Hester, 1990). Implementing an athlete-mentor intervention program may facilitate the transition. Rosenfeld, Richman, and Hardy (1989) were interested in finding out who contributed what type of support to athletes. They found that coaches and teammates provided support that was more specific to the sport (i.e., challenge and encourage athlete to do more) while friends provided social and emotional support and parents provided athletes with technical and emotional support. Each type of support was found to make a unique contribution to the athletes' support system. Rosenfeld et al. point out that social support is an important component in the overall well-being of the recipient. This would suggest that student-athletes would benefit from emotional support (as well as technical and social support) received from their teammates. That is, it may be possible to increase the chances that a freshman student-athlete will experience a more positive college transition if one person could provide them with all of the types of support that will assist in their adjustment to college. This current investigation is based on the work done previously by Hester (1990) who was interested in the effects of an athlete—mentor program on the adjustment of freshman student—athletes. It was hypothesized that those freshmen who received a mentor would experience a more positive college transition than others who did not receive a mentor. Freshmen student—athletes were paired with older athletes on their respective teams and were told that the older athletes were there to provide guidance to them. Although Hester's results did not support the notion that a freshman involved in an athlete-mentor relationship would experience a better transition than a freshman student—athlete not in a similar relationship, there were interesting findings that warrant further investigation. For example, most athletes in the study reported higher scores on the OSIQ subscales of mastery of the external world and superior adjustment than did the average student. This suggests that the athletes in the study were better adjusted to adulthood than most entering freshmen. Also, there were no gender differences found in the amount of adjustment experienced by the student-athletes. The current study was a partial replication of Hester's (1990) study. The current investigator believes that substantially different results will occur due to methodological recommendations made by Hester. In particular, it was suggested that the use of a more appropriate evaluation of adjustment (i.e., the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire) would lead to a better understanding of the transitional period for freshman student- athletes. Also, a methodological idea that was supported in the literature (Baker & Siryk, 1986) was to divide the freshmen into two groups, based on pre-test adjustment levels (indicated by SACQ scores), before being randomly assigned a mentor in an attempt to test for a greater effect from the peer-mentor program. 10 W3 Studies have been done that are concerned with the adjustments a typical student makes when entering college (e.g., Baker, Siryk, & McNeil, 1985; Compas, Wagner, Slavin, & Vanatta, 1986; Cooker & Caffey, 1984; Elliot & Grarnling, 1990; Felsten & Wilcox, 1992; Fisher & Hood, 1988; Fisher, Murray, & Frazer, 1985; Rice, Cole, & Lapsley, 1990; Robbins, Lese, & Herick, 1993; Schwitzer, McGovern, & Robbins, 1991; Smith & Baker, 1987; Weir & Okun, 1989). However, little research has been done concerning the transition student-athletes must make when entering college. The information previously reviewed leads the current researcher to believe that an intervention program where older teammates provide the freshman student-athletes with the social and personal/emotional support, as well as the guidance and advisement needed, will facilitate their transition into college life. This investigation may lead to a better understanding of what freshman student-athletes experience as they adjust to college life and what can be done to facilitate that adjustment. Bummmmjtudx The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a student-athlete mentor program on the personal/emotional and social adjustment of student-athletes who seem to be vulnerable to a poor transition. 5 .5 i . Of particular interest was whether freshman student-athletes will benefit from an intervention program that provides social and personal/emotional support through one-on- one interactions with an older student-athlete. Also, the current investigator was interested in what aspects of the support seemed to be most beneficial to the social and personal adjustments freshman student-athletes make as they entered and progressed through the college experience. 11 Hypotheses In order to determine the effects of an athlete-mentor intervention program on the transition from high school to college the following hypotheses were investigated. 1. There will be no differences between the "low-scorers"/mentor group and the "low-scorers"/no mentor group on the pretest scores on the scales of mastery of the external world, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone from the OSIQ and the scales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment and goal commitment/institutional attachment fi'om the SACQ. 2. There will be no differences between the "high-scorers'Vmentor group and the "high-scorers"/ no mentor group on the pretest scores on the scales of mastery of the external world, superior adjustment, social relationships, emotional tone, and family relationships from the OSIQ and the scales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment and goal commitment/institutional attachment from the SACQ. 3. Those "low-scoring" student-athletes participating in the athlete-mentor program will Show a greater difference in scores from the pretest to the post-test on the scales of mastery of the external world, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone, from the OSIQ and the scales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment and goal commitment/institutional attachment from the SACQ than the “low-scoring" and the "high-scoring" student-athletes not participating in the athlete-mentor program and the "high-scoring" student-athletes participating in the athlete-mentor program. 4. The "high-scoring"/mentor group will not show greater differences in scores from the pretest to post-test on the scales of mastery of the external world, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone, from the OSIQ and the scales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment and goal commitment/institutional attachment from the SACQ than the "high-scoring"/no mentor group. 5. There will be no gender differences when comparing differences from the 12 pretest to the post-test scores on the scales of mastery of the external world, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone, from the OSIQ and the scales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment and goal commitment/institutional attachment from the SACQ. 6. The older student-athletes that serve as mentors will have higher pretest scores on the scales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment and goal commitment/institutional attachment from the SACQ than the freshman student-athletes in the control and the experimental groups. W The effectiveness of the athlete-mentor program was assessed through the use of phone interviews involving the current investigator and the freshmen student-athletes who participated in the program. This was performed in hOpes of providing insight regarding the athlete-mentor program and providing the student-athletes with an opportunity to share experiences and suggestions for improvement. Defitmiens Definitions of the following variables will aid in understanding the design of this study. 1. Mentor: For this study a mentor will be operationally defined as an upper-class, i.e., junior or senior, student-athlete who has been suggested by their respective coaches and screened and provided mentor education by the current investigator. They will befriend and guide a freshman student-athlete. 2. Low-scorers: Those student-athletes that score below the median on the full-scale score of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ). 3. High-scorers: Those student-athletes that score equal to or above the median on the full-scale score of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ). l3 4. Non student-athlete: A student who maintains minimum academic progress defined as 12 or more credits attempted per term (MSU, 1994) and is not a member of an intercollegiate team at MSU. 5. Student-Athlete: A student who maintains minimum academic progress defined as 12 or more credits attempted per term (MSU, 1994) and is a member of an intercollegiate team at MSU. 6. Transition/Adjustment: A change or passing from one condition to another. For the purposes of this study, it is the passing from high school and interscholastic athletics to college and intercollegiate athletics. Generalizations of the results of this study can only be made to freshman-level intercollegiate athletes participating in men’s and women’s indoor track, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men's and women's swimming, women’s basketball, women's softball, men's baseball, men’s hockey, and men’s tennis at a rnidwestern university. The results cannot be generalized to freshman student-athletes who participate in their respective collegiate level sports before the start of the school year. Those freshman student-athletes have an Opportunity to adjust to their new environment without the added pressures of academics. They also have an opportunity to get acquainted with their new teammates without a large number of peOple being present (i.e., the student body). For the purposes of this study it was assumed that the SACQ, OSIQ, and the background questionnaire were valid and reliable measurements of successful transition for the student-athletes from high school to college. Research supports the notion that these instruments are accurate measures of successful transition of non student-athletes, but there is no research that supports the notion that they are valid and reliable measurements of the transition of student-athletes. The current investigation utilized only the scales of mastery of external world, superior adjustment, social adjustment, social relationships, emotional tone, and family relationships from the OSIQ; and the scales of social adjustment, l4 personal/emotional adjustment, and goal commitment/institutional attachment from the SACQ. Also, because the full-scale score from the SACQ is normally calculated with all of the subscales of the instrument, the full-scale score was calculated by simply adding the scores of the three subscales used in the current investigation. This study utilized only freshman student-athletes who had begun official practices in their respective sports after the first day of classes at MSU. This was done in an attempt to study a population that has approximately the same transitional experiences. It was also assumed that all fieshman student-athletes participating in this study shared similar on-campus experiences, academically, socially and athletically, and that the only distinguishing differences between the groups is whether or not they participated in the mentor program. Limitations One limitation occurred when comparing the results of the life adjustment scores (i.e., the SACQ and the OSIQ) of the experimental to the control subjects. That is, subjects in the control group may have established an informal athlete-mentor relationship with some of the other older athletes. In order to account for this, all freshman student-athletes (experimental and control) were asked to keep a log of their social activities involving an older athlete. A second limitation was that a freshman student-athlete may have prior experience with an athlete-mentor program, which may contribute to the effectiveness of such a program. A third limitation was the extent to which other factors affect the transition of the freshman student-athlete. For example, time spent with coaches, academic and athletic advisors, calling and visiting home, and family or friends visiting. Individual interviews conducted at the end of the mentor program addressed these issues. The purpose of the interview was to provide insight regarding the college adjustment experiences of freshmen student-athletes. 15 A third limitation was the reliability of the information provided by the mentors to the investigator regarding the fiequency and duration of athlete-mentor interactions during the week. In order to address this issue, the investigator asked the mentors to log the true amount of time and list all activities they were involved in with their mentee during the week. Also, mentees were asked to fill out an interaction form which was compared to the mentor's logs. A final limitation involved the nature of applied studies and college sports. The differences in adjustment scores for this study were compared only between those student- athletes who completed the pre- and post-test questionnaires. Approximately ten subjects were lost from the pre- to the post-test due to injury or ineligibility. Therefore, the results of this study could possibly be influenced by the fact that the adjustment levels of college student-athletes were not justly represented because the ten athletes may have changed the findings. 'c i f t d The results of this study have lead to a better understanding of the adjustment student-athletes must make when they enter college. If a similar program was modified to meet team and individual needs, it may benefit the student—athlete, the coach, and possibly the athletic department to offer a program for their student-athletes that will facilitate their transition into college. Knowing that a student-athlete has a peer to turn to for assistance may ease the mind of that student-athlete and their coach as well. The practical use of this type of Study is obvious in that it investigates the transition of student-athletes while they are actually experiencing that transition. If the results of this study show positive effects of such a program, it may be that an intervention of this type has the potential to make the student-athlete more productive (academically and athletically) and may increase athlete retention rates. At the same time, these student-athletes may have the opportunity to become well-adjusted adults. CHAPTER TWO Review of Literature I . . The transition from high school to college is a trying time for most individuals as they must break away from familiar surroundings and face new challenges. It is common for freshmen to experience difficulties with this adjustment period because most have had little experience efficiently handling transitions such as this. In fact, some students experience serious psychological difficulties such as absentrnindedness and homesickness due to challenges that they are not prepared to face (Fisher & Hood, 1987). There are some students who have an even more difficult transitional path to follow due to the fact that they have additional responsibilities of being an intercollegiate athlete. The literature pertaining to this population is far from overwhelming but there is an abundance of research concerning the average college student (i.e., someone who carries a full course load but is not a college athlete). For some students, entering college is the first time they have had to leave their family and homelife for an extended period of time. The transition to college for most people involves a period of time where they drastically shift their value system, personal and social habits, and academic outlook (Feldman & Newcomb, 1970, cited in Baker & Siryk, 1984). This can cause anxiety for someone who has had little experience being away from home but it seems that those individuals who have spent time away from home before going to college have a less difficult time with the transition to college life. In fact, Fisher and Hood (1988) found that students who were not homesick during the early part of their first term were likely to have been away from home either to attend boarding school or to take holidays. However, there is literature suggesting that it is more than a simple issue of early mobility experiences that decrease the chances of negative college adjustment. Fisher, Murray, and Frazer (1985) state that: “...an environmental relocation from home creates a necessary predisposing 16 l7 condition and personality and environmental features combine interactively as precipitant conditions which determine whether homesickness is an outcome” (p. 194). Research has been done to investigate factors involved in positive college adjustment of freshmen that points to multiple factors that determine the subsequent college transition of freshmen. It seems that the role of the affective response to separation from one's parents plays a crucial role in determining the potential adjustment of college freshmen. Rice, Cole, and Lapsley (1990) found that students reporting positive feelings about separation from their parents reported being well-adjusted to university life compared to students who had negative, angry, or resentful feelings associated with separation from their parents. The importance of this research is that students must experience some degree of disengagement from their family in order to attain independence and that their feelings about separation are more important than the actual separation itself. Others have suggested that it is a combination of the student's personality and circumstantial factors that determine the adjustment levels of new freshmen. Fisher, Murray, and Frazer (1985) found that poorly-adjusted students were more often than not farther from home and unsatisfied with several aspects of the college environment. It appears that dissatisfaction with the college environment is more of a result of larger distances from home. That is, students are unhappy that they have little chance to visit home and, therefore, are unhappy that they are forced to stay at school. However, those students who choose to leave home and attend the college of their choice report fewer experiences of homesickness than those who are not allowed to contribute to the decision- making process. It may be that those students who choose which college to attend feel that they are establishing their independence from their parents and those who do not make the decisions sense a lack of control and experience feelings of perceived helplessness. It may also be that entering freshmen tend to overestimate their abilities upon arrival at college. Baker, Siryk, and McNeil (1985) found that students expect more from the college environment, as well as themselves, than is actually realized during their first year in 18 college. They found that most college students rate their adjustment levels higher at the beginning of their first semester than they do near the end of their first semester and during their second semester. Interestingly enough, these students tended to overestimate their social and academic adjustment, as well as their feelings of attachment to their college, but as a whole they did not overestimate their personal/emotional adjustment. This may be due to the fact that at their age during entrance into college, students have a relatively stable sense of self and that the other areas of adjustment are more apt to fluctuate due to their novel natures. Smith and Baker (1987) found that freshmen who had some sense of direction concerning their academic major experienced a more positive academic adjustment and, to a lesser degree, a more positive personal/emotional adjustment and greater feelings of attachment to their university. It is possible that as time goes on that a lack of commitment to one's major may adversely influence all aspects of their college adjustment and that those who are more directed will experience a more positive well-rounded college experience. This would suggest that if an individual is provided direction or guidance (i.e., a mentor) they will experience a more positive personal adjustment and a greater sense of attachment to their university. It appears that the difficulties students experience when adjusting to college are due to many personal and situational factors. This makes it difficult to evaluate and provide counseling for the distressed student but the literature presented in the next section provides evidence that the social support that one receives plays a significant role in helping with challenging times such as the transition from high school to college. 1 ial rt WW There is literature that supports the notion that social support can have a beneficial effect on the college transition of freshmen. An individual experiences a positive transition to college through a combination of the total number of perceived social supports in one's 19 life and the degree to which these supports are personally satisfying. For instance, Sarason, Levine, Basham, and Sarason (1983) found that people high in social support seem to experience more desirable events in their lives, have higher self-esteem, and take a more optimistic view of life than do people low in social support. Research shows that it is more than a reduction in stress, caused by major life events, that results from social support. Flett, Blankstein, Hicken, and Watson (1995) conducted a study in order to find out the extent to which individuals seek out social support when they experience perceived daily hassles. Individuals in their study tended to seek out social support from significant others only when they interpreted their challenges to be severely Stressful events. This would suggest that the greater negative influence of daily hassles on psychological adjustment may be due, in part, to the reduced social support associated with the experience of daily life hassles. This may explain the lack of social support that an athlete seeks when experiencing daily life hassles. They may feel that these hassles are simply part of the college process and there is no need to bother someone else with their problems. Unfortunately, it is the build-up of these daily hassles and the lack of a social support network that leads one to experience greater psychological difficulties when confronted with a major stressful life event (e.g., loss of a loved one, failing classes, loss of athletic scholarship). i un ' l e v' nm The benefits of social support to the general population are interesting but what about the effects of social support on the college transition? How does a support network develop? What are common characteristics of that network? Hays and Oxley (1986) found that the development of a social network among college students usually follows a pattern that is characterized by a gradual, systematic increase in the depth and breadth of interpersonal exchange as a relationship progresses. Specifically, friends will begin to share more attitudes and values, spend more time together, and feel more comfortable sharing their feelings with each other, over time. This 20 last progression is dependent on the amount of emotional SUpport provided by the network: the more support, the more self-disclosing one is apt to be. An important point to make is that this network is also a potential source of stress. Consider the average athletic team that practices together 20 hours a week, travels together, lives together, and attends classes and study hall together. This over-exposure to the same group can often cause tension between teammates, especially when anxiety levels are high (e.g., exams and meets/events). It is important that these individuals are provided an outlet to "blow-off steam" and clear their heads so that they can get back on task. Hays and Oxley (1986) found that the number of fellow university students within the freshman’s networks was the most strongly related variable with college adaptation. Considering the complex nature of college adjustment it would be advantageous to have a large number of resources which, in turn, increases your chances of finding someone who can help with a particular problem. Another interesting finding was that direct forms of support (i.e., advice, emotional support, task assistance) were less related to the freshman’s adaptation to college while “fun and relaxation” was the network function most consistently associated with adaptation. This would suggest that, for college freshmen, social interactions with other students that are primarily recreational in nature such as attending parties, dances, and sports events, may promote adaptation by helping the freshmen become familiar with and integrated into the university setting and student role. This suggests that any assistance (e.g., mentor program) provided for students and student-athletes alike would be more productive if it involved less pressure on the freshmen and more opportunities for social interaction. The research concerned with the relationship between the effects of social support and college student-athletes has not been abundant but there is a significant amount that addresses the beneficial effects for the college transition in general. The research concerning the effects of social support on the college transition has mainly been concerned 21 with the academic aspect. However, research has been conducted that examines more than just the direct effect of social support on the college transition. Weir and Okun (1989) investigated the effects of social support and positive college events on college satisfaction for 392 community college students. They found that structural social support (i.e., more contact with faculty, family members, friends, and clubs/organizations) had a direct positive effect on a student's level of college satisfaction. Weir and Okun (1989) also found that perceived social support that increased self-esteem, combined with positive college events, had a boosting effect on the level of one's college satisfaction. Compas, Wagner, Slavin, and Vannatta (1986) found, in a study of 64 college students, a similar relationship in that dissatisfaction with social support was related to increased perceived stressful events. This suggests that not only can social support provide a "buffer" for negative experiences but it can also help increase a student's level of satisfaction with college which may increase their motivation to do well at school. There is evidence that social support interacts with factors at the individual level when influencing college adjustment. Research has been done that is concerned with interpersonal differences among individuals in mastery beliefs and goal-setting, personal assertiveness, and social persistence. Felsten and Wilcox ( 1992) found that individuals with higher situation- specific mastery beliefs experienced a reduction in perceived stress, as well as an increase in psychological adjustment than those individuals with lower situation-specific mastery. Robbins, Lese, and Herick (1993) also found that high goal-directed individuals were able to benefit more from having relationships with peOple they can share activities with than were low goal-directed individuals. However, an interesting finding is that social support interacted with levels of mastery in that those individuals who possessed lower situation- specific mastery but were quite satisfied with their support networks experienced less anxiety than higher situation-specific mastery individuals with the same level of satisfaction with support networks (Felsten & Wilcox, 1992). This finding is also supported by 22 Robbins et al. who found that, at times of stress, low goal-directed individuals benefited more from having relationships with persons with whom they could discuss problems than did high goal-directed individuals. This may explain why some Student-athletes at the intercollegiate level often experience more stress than the average college student. Student- athletes usually diSplay higher levels of mastery and goal-directedness than the average college student, therefore, they will often feel that it is their responsibility to resolve their problems while those who are less goal-directed often look to others for support and reassurance. This suggests that those individuals who feel less confident in their abilities may look to others to compensate for their lack 0f perceived talent and those who are more confident may feel that their support network threatens their sense of control. Elliott and Gramling (1990) were interested in another personal variable, assertiveness, and how its interaction with social support influences college adjustment. They found that, in times of stress, assertive persons gained more from socially supportive networks that provided others with common interests and values than did individuals who were less personally assertive. The literature above points to the complex nature of social support and its effects on the college transition. It also points to the fact that any type of intervention that attempts to address the difficulties experienced during the transition to college needs to consider the individual differences of the students and how that will affect their adjustment. For example, when working with a person who is goal-directed and assertive, a counselor would be most successful by encouraging them to find a support network that shares common beliefs and interests but does not threaten their sense of individuality. Conversely, someone who is less goal-directed may benefit more from a group that allows this person to lean more on them in times of trouble. The current investigation makes an attempt at providing that assistance through briefly-trained mentors who are older athletes participating on the same team as their respective mentees. 23 Social support has also been found to be an effective tool in assisting students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds. The research on the social support of African- Americans in the college environment indicates that perceived social support systems are a function of the race of the college majority. It makes intuitive sense that African-American students, as well as student-athletes, must make significant personal and social adjustments when attending predominantly White institutions. In fact, Jay and D'Augelli (1991) and Hershberger and D'Augelli (1992) conducted studies comparing the social support patterns and consequent effects on academic success and graduation rates of African-Americans, on predominantly White campuses, with that of Whites and found that African-American freshmen reported less social support than White Students. Many come from communities and high schools in which they were the majority and are now in a distinct minority. They also found that even though social support was not predictive of a student's academic success, it did help students cope with psychological stress common to the first year in college. Research has been done that focuses on the facilitative effects of social support for African-Americans on predominantly Black campuses. Hughes ( 1987), in a series of studies comparing the effects of social support on African-American students on both Black and White campuses, found that social support on the predominantly Black campus assists African-American men and women in their social, cultural, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual development. It was also found that both Black men and women reported that they must defer their social, personal, emotional, and cultural development until they have left the predominantly White university environment. Even though this type of comparison is beyond the focus of this study it may be interesting to compare the two groups since the subjects in this current investigation are from a predominantly White university. Therefore, it would seem that an effective strategy to avoid the stifling of a healthy college transition for African-Americans on predominantly White campuses would be to promote values of diversity among minority and majority populations. Even though racial concerns were briefly discussed with the mentors in this 24 study, racial differences in adjustment levels of freshmen is beyond the scope of this investigation. The evidence has shown the benefits of social support for the average student, but what about the student who has an additional commitment to participate on an intercollegiate team? Due to the many time demands that accompany this commitment there is often little time to develop much of a social network. In fact, Lanning (1982), in a review of the special counseling needs of the scholarship athlete, found that athletes tend to develop most peer relationships within the group of athletes in their same sport. This friendship pattern, combined with the fact that most freshmen student-athletes spend much of their time with each other, produces a network with little resources due to their lack of experience with college life. There is evidence that athletes receive various types of support from multiple sources. Rosenfeld, Richman, and Hardy (1989) were interested in finding out who provided what types of perceived social support to the athletes in their study. They found that coaches and teammates provided technical support that was more specific to their sport (i.e., challenge and encouragement) while friends provided social and emotional support and parents provided athletes with technical and emotional support. An important point is that the types and sources of support mentioned were rated by the athletes in this study as making a unique contribution to their support system. This would suggest that student— athletes would benefit from emotional support, as well as technical and social support, received from significant others to whom they are exposed on a regular basis (i.e., older teammates). This point leads to a discussion of formal support programs that are available to student-athletes. Cascading Most colleges and universities provide formal academic counseling programs to the general college freshmen pOpulation but there are relatively few programs that address areas outside of academics or the special population of freshmen student-athletes. It is obvious 25 that the college experience is more than simply curriculum. It is intuitive that a program that introduces students to the cultural, social, personal, and recreational resources in the college community would enhance the social, physical, and mental development of the student during a challenging period of adjustment. Literature concerning the counseling of the general student population will be presented first, along with suggestions of how they may be modified to suit the special needs of student-athletes. The literature pertaining to existing counseling programs for student-athletes will then be presented. WW Research suggests that the most critical period of time concerning the transition to college is during the first few weeks of classes (Compas et al., 1986; Schwitzer, McGovern, and Robbins, 1991). This is a time when freshmen are overwhelmed by many new things at once. Most universities have developed orientation courses to alleviate the stress felt by the entering freshmen. Kramer and Washbum (1983), in a study of 367 first- time college students, investigated the needs of the freshmen during this orientation period. They found that peer association and personal development were common concerns. More specifically, females reported higher perceived needs in these areas. In a similar study, Schwitzer et al. investigated the effectiveness of a freshmen seminar that integrated campus resource information and social support. They found that the seminar was successful both at increasing participants' knowledge of the university and providing available support services, and at promoting adjustment to the campus social environment. Another interesting finding was that the overall perceived need level of the students in both studies significantly decreased as they went through the orientation period. - te In the case of the student-athlete, the first few weeks of the semester are particularly busy as they must attend classes, practices, and numerous meetings that focus on . everything from academic advising to compliance with NCAA rules and regulations. This leaves little time to get acquainted with the university and others outside of their immediate 26 team. It would be beneficial to coaches and administrators to introduce these freshmen student-athletes to other resources that can provide them with guidance and 'outlets' that will reduce their stress levels when academics and sports become too much for them. There are existing programs for student-athletes that address transitional concerns other than academics. Cooker and Caffey (1984) conducted a study in which male student-athletes participating in intercollegiate football took part in group counseling, as well as a reading program, in an attempt to enhance athletic attitude and self—esteem. Quantitative results showed that group counseling did not produce significant differences in athletic attitude and self-esteem between the different experimental groups. However, qualitative analysis of the student-athletes' narratives showed positive benefits in problem solving, interpersonal relationships building, and expression of feeling. It was suggested that the quantitative results could have been affected by the characteristics of a football 'subculture' or the inability of the student-athletes to try out new behaviors and receive sufficient feedback due to the brevity of the group-counseling program (10 weeks). Cultural Differences The difficulties experienced with the transition to college are not the same for all individuals. They are often dependent on the racial or cultural backgrounds of students. Some populations, such as lower-income African-Americans who attend predominantly White universities, experienced more academic difficulties because they were not properly prepared for college academics due to the lack of educational funding in many urban school districts. Trippi and Cheatham (1989), in a study of Black students who attended a predominantly White university, attempted to discern which characteristics of those Black students and the counseling programs most affected their academic performance and college persistence. They found that Black freshmen sought assistance for matters related to academics, course scheduling, institutional procedure, and financial aid concerns. Also, the students were more receptive to counseling when a counseling relationship was made 27 early in the year; when the counseling assisted them in actively resolving short-term concerns; and, when they were responsible for scheduling appointments with their counselor. ' This last study is interesting considering the fact that the majority of Black athletes participate at predominantly White universities and, according to the previous literature, Blacks perceive that there is a lack of opportunity for their social, personal, emotional, and cultural development at a predominantly White campus. This suggests that they perceive the academic counseling to be adequate but, due to the lack of cultural diversity on the college campus (and the local community), they are not afforded the chance to become well-rounded individuals. To summarize, it appears that counseling provided in the first few weeks of classes is most effective in helping students adjust to college. Students feel that developing their personal lives, as well as, social relationships is an important part of college adjustment. Also, students value relationships that provide them with useful campus information, opportunities to have fun, and support networks. It is the belief of this researcher (through observation and personal experience) that a majority of these findings apply to student- athletes. It has been suggested that these resources can be provided to student-athletes through the use of a peer-mentor program (Hester, 1990). Memories Mentoring has been used in many fields such as business, medicine, teaching, and service-oriented fields to help new associates adapt to an unfamiliar environment (Haensly & Parsons, 1993). Mentorship, in the youth-oriented general development context, is best described as an intensified personal relationship in which (a) both mentor and mentee share enthusiasm for a particular domain or endeavor, (b) the mentor's expertise and the mentee's zest and thirst for the expertise combine to foster outstandingly creative accomplishments by the mentee, and (c) the mentor's wisdom and experience shape the guidance and counsel 28 given to a mentee for whom the mentor has particularly high expectations that become uniquely well-defined as the mentee develops. This view of mentoring can be seen in athletics as college freshmen attempt to acquaint themselves with their new surroundings. This acclimation usually takes place in an informal manner, however, these freshmen look to older players for guidance and, oftentimes, adapt their style or philosophy in order to fit-in with the rest of the team. After the freshmen have had time to establish themselves as part of the team they begin to create their own image based on their experiences and the wisdom shared by older players. But what if such relationships do not develop? What are other vital components of an effective mentoring relationship? Redmond (1990), in an article that focuses on the culturally diverse and underrepresented students, examined the role of planned mentorship between students and faculty. The investigator was particularly interested in how this relationship affected retention, timely graduation rates, and cross-cultural understanding. Redmond concluded that planned mentorship systematically addresses causes of culturally diverse student attrition and delayed graduation by (a) promoting greater student/faculty contact, communication and understanding; (b) encouraging the use of university resources designed to aid Students with nonacademic problems; (c) intervening promptly with academic difficulties; and, (d) creating a culturally validating psychosocial atmosphere. Also, in order to create a university in which diversity is valued and expected, there must be an emphasis on interpersonal interaction, c00perative problem solving, cross-cultural understanding, and institutional commitment. The key to such a successful mentoring program seems to be structured planning that emphasizes mentor training and mentor/student relationships. There is no other aspect of a university setting where cultural diversity receives more exposure to the general public than college athletics. It is intuitive that, due to the goal of most universities to prepare their students for life after college, an intervention that 29 teaches college athletes the importance of cultural diversity, interpersonal interaction, and utilization of college and community resources would facilitate their achievement of that goal. Based on the literature presented above, it is the belief that with the help of college administrators and coaches, older student-athletes can provide freshmen student-athletes adequate training that will help them with the adjustment to college. The current investigation was based on the work done by Hester (1990) who looked at the effect of a mentoring program on the personal and social adjustment of freshmen student-athletes. It was hypothesized that those freshmen student-athletes who received a mentor would experience a better personal and social adjustment to college than those freshmen student—athletes who did not receive a mentor. The mentor was to serve as a 'big brother/sister' to their respective mentee for the five weeks of the mentoring I program. The adjustment levels of the two freshmen groups (i.e., those with a mentor and those without a mentor) were measured through the use of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ) and the Profile of Mood States. There were no Significant differences found between the two groups but the student-athletes in that study did score higher on the adjustment measures than did the general student pOpulation that was used to validate the instrument. Also, it was found that there were no significant differences in adjustment levels between male and female athletes. Based on these findings, the recommendations made by Hester, and methodological improvements, the current investigator postulated that a mentoring program would have a positive effect on the personal and social adjustment of the student-athletes in this study. I I . C 1] E 1. Most of the research involving the transition into college is concentrated on the non- student-athlete and utilizes instruments that measure various components of the adjustment period through the use of paper-and-pencil questionnaires. Offer, Ostrov and Howard (1982) developed the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ) in order to examine significant areas in the adjustment and the psychology of the teen-ager. The Offer Self- 30 Image Questionnaire measures adjustment in twelve areas that are considered important in the psychological world of the adolescent. Of particular importance to this investigation are the (1) mastery of the external world, (2) superior adjustment, (3) social relationships, (4) emotional tone, and (5) family relationships because of their relation to the student- athletes' adjustment to their new environments. Even though the OSIQ (Offer, Ostrov, & Howard, 1982) has Shown positive results for adolescents making the transition into adulthood, not much has been found in terms of the student-athlete's transition into college. A problem with the OSIQ is that it does not provide any information regarding the student-athlete's feelings or attitudes toward the specific college or university they are attending. The second instrument being used to measure adjustment addresses this problem. Baker and Siryk (1984) constructed the Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ), which later was revised and became the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (Baker & Siryk, 1989). This scale uses four indices (academic, social, personal/emotional, and goal commitment/institutional attachment) of adjustment to measure a student's transition to college. The creators developed this diagnostic instrument in order to serve as a basis for informed remedial intervention in the lives of students experiencing difficulty in adjustment to college (Baker & Siryk, 1984). The current investigation will be utilizing only the social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and goal commitment/institutional attachment subscales to measure their specific aspects of the transition to college life (i.e., social and personal/emotional). Of particular interest is the attachment subscale because it evaluates a component of the college transition that the OSIQ does not. This is a unique scale that measures the quality of the relationship or bond that is established between the student and their institution (Baker & Siryk, 1986). This is important because this bond can affect how a student adjusts to his/her college. 31 Students who do not feel an attachment or a sense of loyalty to their institution would probably not be inclined to join university clubs and organizations. Therefore, since clubs and organizations are excellent ways for an entering student to socialize in their new environment, the freshman may find it difficult to adjust, socially, to college. In the sport setting, a student-athlete with little regard for his/her team or the governing bodies of his/her sport (i.e., athletic department, National Collegiate Athletic Association), may be less inclined to get involved in events outside of their practices and games. For example, they may not participate in team 'get-togethers' or fund—raisers. Or they may not even develop friendships with their teammates. Their reluctance to adjust, socially, may adversely affect their reputation on the team and possibly the team unity. In summary, based on the literature, the five OSIQ subscales and the three SACQ subscales used in the current investigation are appropriate measures of the college adjustment of freshmen student-athletes. The use of all eight subscales is warranted because they measure similar but unique components of the college transition. CHAPTER THREE Method Subjects The subjects were 58 fieshman student—athletes (M: 18.45 years of age, SD: .50) from MSU participating in men’s and women’s indoor track, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men's and women's swimming, women's basketball, women's softball, men‘s baseball, men’s hockey, and men's tennis, who volunteered to be in the study. Twenty-two freshmen served as the experimental group; twenty-three freshmen served as the control group, and; thirteen freshmen from three intercollegiate athletic teams served as a second control group that simply filled out pre- and post-test questionnaires and knew nothing of the experiment. There were a total of 42 upperclassmen (i.e., juniors and seniors) that completed the pretest questionnaires in the study. Twenty-four of the upperclassmen (M: 20.86 years of age, SD: .97) were chosen to serve as mentors. Junior and senior athletes were selected to serve as mentors because it was assumed that these older athletes would be better adjusted to college life. Specific older athletes were assigned to their respective freshman athlete based on their common backgrounds (obtained from the Background Questionnaire) and/or recommendations from their coaches. h§tglm§nt§ The instruments used in this study were the Background Questionnaire for the mentors (see Appendix A) and the mentees (see Appendix B); the Athlete-Mentor Interaction form (see Appendix C) for mentors and all freshmen student-athletes in the study; the OSIQ (see Appendix D); and, the SACQ (see Appendix E). The Background Questionnaire and the Athlete-Mentor Interaction Forms are reliable and valid measures due to the nature of each instrument. The Background questionnaire asks specific and direct questions about a subject's demographics. The Athlete-Mentor Log is simply used to track the social interaction of freshmen and older student-athletes. 32 33 The instruments used to measure college adjustment in the current study were the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ) and the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ). The Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (Offer etal., 1982) is a 130- item, self-descriptive personality test that can be used for measuring adjustment in twelve areas that are considered important in the psychological world of adolescents between the ages of thirteen and nineteen. Only five of the twelve areas were utilized in the current study and they are: 1) Mastery of the External World (hereafter referred to as the Mastery subscale), 2) Superior Adjustment, 3) Social Relationships, 4) Emotional Tone, and 5) Family Relationships. Therefore, the condensed version of the OSIQ used in the current investigation consisted of only 60 items. Hester (1990) used only the subscales of Mastery of the External World and Superior Adjustment in the previous study, whereas, the current investigation includes three additional subscales because of their relevancy to the college adjustment of student-athletes. - The Mastery of the External World subscale assesses how well an adolescent adapts to his or her environment. A low score shows an inability to finish tasks. A high score signifies a well-functioning adolescent who is able to deal with frustration. The Superior Adjustment subscale measures how well the adolescent copes with himself or herself, other people, and his or her world. This scale could also be defined as a measure of ego strength. A low score denotes that the adolescent does not deal adequately with his or her environment. A high score indicates a well-functioning coping system. The Social Relationships subscale assesses object relationships and friendship patterns. A low score on this subscale indicates that the adolescent has not developed good object relations and feels lonely and isolated. A high score shows a well-developed capacity for empathy. The Emotional Tone subscale measures the degree of affective harmony within the psychic structure, and the extent to which there is fluctuation in the emotions as opposed to feelings that remain relatively stable. Low scores on this subscale show poor affective 34 control or great emotional fluctuation. High scores are associated with the ability to experience a range of many emotions satisfactorily. The Family Relationships subscale is concerned with how the adolescent feels about his or her parents and the kind of relationship be or she has with them. It also examines the emotional atmosphere in the home. A low score implies that the adolescent does not get along well with his or her parents and that there is tension in the home. A high score indicates that the adolescent communicates openly with his or her parents. It is important to note that the current investigator does not suggest that the intervention in this study (i.e., mentoring program) will have a significant impact on the family relationships of the student-athletes in this study. This subscale was included because the literature has suggested that the family relationships of a college freshman plays an important role in the transition to college. This may help explain any differences in adjustment that were found (ornotfound) Reliability Qfld Validity. In order to test the internal consistency of the OSIQ subscales, Offer et al. (1982) used a statistical method called Cronbach's alpha. Data from 964 adolescents (divided into four groups: 13-15 year old males and females, 16-19 year old males and females) were used to assess the reliability of the subscales. The results Showed that the scales were generally internally consistent. Table 1 presents the alpha reliability coefficients on each OSIQ subscale for 16-19 year old males and females. These two groups were chosen because the age of the subjects in the present study falls in that range. 35 Tablel e _e t-_“'.-; ogf -. .. -._, .._ . e.- - 1:1 t1]! Subscales Males 16-19 yrs. old Females 16-19 yrs. old Mastery .65 .69 Superior Adjustment .63 .66 Social Relationships .76 _ .68 Emotional Tone .72 .81 FamilLRelationsltips .83 .90 Note, 11: 241 fOr each group on all scales. The validity of the OSIQ subscales was assessed in two ways, using construct and concurrent approaches. The construct validity approach suggests that we would expect the five scales used in the current study to Show high intercorrelations because they are measuring different aspects of one dimension (i.e., how adolescents think and feel about themselves). However, it is pointed out that the correlations between any two scales should not be too great if they are considered two separate dimensions. The intercorrelations presented in Tables 2 and 3 show that the correlations between the subscales are moderate to high, suggesting that distinctions among clusters of the scales are sufficient to justify retaining their separate identities. 36 Table 2 t t. M es Mas“, SUPerior Social Emotional Family ’3’ Adjustment Relationships Tone Relationships Mastery 1.00 Superior Adjustment '5 7 1 '00 Social Relationships '47 '49 1 '00 frmfiom .60 .41 .67 100 one Family Relationships '43 -48 ~43 .50 1 .00 15191;.- n=j241 fbr each group on El scales. Table 3 1 ti n f - 1 F ales Mastery ASduperior Social . Emotional Family. Lustrnent Relatronshrps Tone Relationshlps Mastery 1.00 afiiflonships .50 .46 1.00 $3260”) .52 .40 .68 1.00 fifliiinsmps .36 .37 .41 .44 1.00 N912. n: 241 for each group on all scales. In order to test the concurrent validity of the OSIQ, three studies (Offer, 1969, cited in Offer, Ostrov, & Howard, 1982; Coche & Taylor, 1974, cited in Offer, Ostrov, & Howard, 1982; Hjorth, 1980, cited in Offer, Ostrov, & Howard, 1982) were conducted that examined the correlations of the OSIQ and other personality tests. The findings of these studies were that moderate to high correlations exist between the OSIQ and the Bell 37 Inventory, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and the Tennessee Self-Image Test. Hester (1990) found that the OSIQ was useful in assessing the adjustment of college student-athletes, however, this instrument was not intended to be used to measure the adjustment to college, per se. The shortened form of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) was also used in the previous study. It was not found to be an accurate measure of college adjustment for student-athletes because the validity of this instrument was tested mainly with pathological subjects. Also, its subscales of tension-anxiety, depression— dejection, anger—hostility, fatigue-inertia, vigor-activity, and confusion-bewilderment were not direct assessments of adjustment difficulties that may be experienced while entering college. Therefore, a different, more accurate measure of college adjustment was added in the current investigation. The SACQ is a 67-item, self-report questionnaire that is designed to assess how well a student is adapting to the demands of the college experience (Baker & Siryk, 1984). This study utilized only three of the four subscales and they are as follows: (1) Social Adjustment, (2) Personal-Emotional Adjustment, and (3) Goal Commitment/Institutional Attachment (hereafter referred to as the Attachment subscale). Therefore, the condensed version of the SACQ used in the current study consisted of only 42 items. This instrument was used because of its ability to assess the areas of adjustment that are specific to the college environment. The Social Adjustment subscale measures a student's success in coping with the interpersonal-societal demands inherent in the college experience. Low scores on this subscale are associated with low social skills; less success in separating from home ties and establishing social autonomy; less success in coping with life changes; and, less perceived social support. The Personal-Emotional Adjustment subscale focuses on a student's intrapsychic state during his or her adjustment to college, and the degree to which he or she is experiencing general psychological distress and any concomitant somatic problems. Low scores on this subscale are associated with a greater likelihood of being known to campus psychological services center; a lesser degree of mental health or psychological well-being, or a greater degree of psychological distress, including anxiety (both state and trait) and depression; and, a greater experience of negative life events. The Attachment subscale is designed to measure a student's degree of commitment to educational— institutional goals and degree of attachment to the particular institution the student is attending, especially the quality of the relationship that is established between the student and the institution. Low scores on this subscale are associated with a greater likelihood of discontinuance of enrollment and less overall satisfaction with the college experience. W In order to test the internal consistency of the SACQ subscales, studies by Baker and Siryk (1984) were done using the statistical method called Cronbach's alpha. These data, for first- and second-semester freshmen at three institutions, were gathered over several years and resulted in large alphas. Values for the Social Adjustment subscale range from .83 to .91, for the Personal-Emotional Adjustment subscale from .77 to .86, and for the Attachment subscale from .85 to .91. In order to assess the validity of the SACQ, a number of studies done at Clark University and other Eastern Coast colleges examined the relationship between its scales and independent real—life behaviors that may be assumed to reflect the influence of the variables measured by the SACQ. Several criteria were used for the Social Adjustment subscale in validity studies (Baker & Siryk, 1984; Wick & Shilkert 1986, cited in Baker & Siryk, 1986; Savino, Reuter-Krohn, & Costar, 1986, cited in Baker & Siryk, 1986; Hanis, 1988, cited in Baker & Siryk, 1986) : (a) a social activities checklist, (b) outcome of application for dormitory assistant positions at the end of the student's sophomore or junior year, (c) amount of extracurricular activity, ((1) number of visits the students made home, and (e) romantic partners. Significant positive correlations were found between scores on the Social Adjustment subscale and criteria a, b, c, and e while significant negative correlations were found between the subscale and criterion d. 39 The criterion employed for the Personal-Emotional Adjustment subscale was a student having made a visit(s) to the campus psychological services center during the freshman year. Significant negative correlations were found between the personal- emotional adjustment subscale scores and a student being known to the campus psychological services center (ranging from -.34 to -.06) for all of the populations used in the original validity studies done by Baker and Siryk (1984). The criteria variables used to measure the validity of the Attachment subscale (Baker & Siryk, 1984; Albert, 1988, cited in Baker & Siryk, 1986; Gerdes, 1986, cited in Baker & Siryk, 1986) were: (a) college attrition, (b) attending a college that was the student's first choice, and (c) ratings of overall college satisfaction. Significant negative correlations were found between scores on the Attachment subscale and criterion a while significant positive correlations were found between the subscale and criteria b and c. In summary, the three SACQ subscales used in the current investigation relate to a statistically significant degree in the expected directions to independent real-life behaviors that may be regarded as especially relevant to particular subscales. Moreover, these independent criteria represent important behaviors, decisions, or accomplishments in the lives of students (Baker & Siryk, 1989). We The subjects were divided into two groups based on their pretest scores from the SACQ subscales which measure their social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and attachment. Those scoring equal to or above the median for the group on the full-scale scores, computed in this study, were assigned to the "high-scorer" group and those scoring below the median on the full-scale scores were assigned to the "low-scorer" group. Within each group, random assignment was accomplished by drawing the subjects' II) numbers out of a large bowl. The individual ID numbers of each subject for both groups were written on individual pieces of paper, placed in a bowl, and drawn out one by one. The 40 first ID number was placed in the experimental group, the second in the control group, the third in the experimental group, the fourth in the control group, and so on. The experimental design for this study was a 2x2 (Treatment Group x Adjustment Group) factorial design . Figure 1 depicts the design and the numbers of subjects in each group. Even though adjustment group assignment was based on a median split, the number of subjects in the low- and high-scorer columns are not equal because ten subjects were lost over the course of this study due to injury or ineligibility. 'u t n Low-scorers High-scorers a t r Athlete-Mentor Group 13 9 Control Group 13 10 EiguLe_L The 2x2 (Treatment Group x Adjustment Group) design and the corresponding number of subjects for each group used in the current investigation. Data Cgllectiun Emedures During the summer semester, all coaches of teams that could potentially be used for the current study were contacted. The purpose of the study and the requirements of their athletes were explained to them. The names of all entering freshmen and potential mentors were obtained from the coaches. Arrangements were made to collect data from the freshmen and the mentors and to conduct a tutorial session for the mentors. Very early in the fall semester, the investigator met with the junior and senior student-athlete volunteers to explain the purpose of the athlete-mentor program. One meeting was required to hand out and complete consent forms (see Appendix F), 41 Background Questionnaire (see Appendix A) and the SACQ (see Appendix E). The investigator assured subjects of anonymity by assigning them an identification number which they wrote on all questionnaires. All upperclass volunteers were provided with a tutorial for the intervention program. A second meeting was required to notify those upperclassmen who would serve as mentors, to help match them with their mentees, and explain what was expected of them during the eight weeks of the study. The tutorial involved a discussion of suggested social activities for the mentor to get involved in with their mentee. A resource list (see Appendix G) was given to the mentors and suggested that they give a copy to their mentee. This resource list included information about campus resources, events, transportation, mall/theater/restaurant locations, etc. In general, these mentors were to become friends or "Big brothers/sisters" to the mentees and help them get through their freshman year as efficiently as possible. Open discussion was promoted in order to generate additional resources for the mentor program. The mentors were required to meet with their mentee (socially) at least once a week. The frequency and duration of these meetings were documented by the mentor on an Athlete-mentor Interaction Form (see Appendix C). They were given eight copies of the Athlete-mentor Interaction Forms and instructed to fill them out, place them in an envelope, and return them to the investigator each week (for the eight weeks of the study) at their practice sites. All freshman student-athletes participating in the study (experimental and control) were asked to stay after a practice/team meeting in order to complete consent forms, Background Questionnaires (see Appendix B), the SACQ, and the OSIQ (see Appendix D) during their third week of the fall term. The investigator assured subjects of anonymity by assigning them an identification number which they wrote on all questionnaires. A second meeting was held after practice during the fourth week of classes. Based on pretest adjustment scores, the subjects were divided into "low-scorers" and "high scorers". Then, through random assignment, the subjects were instructed to join either 42 group one, which was the experimental group, or group two, which was the control group. The subjects were not informed of the reasoning for group assignment. The subjects that had been assigned to the mentor group were informed that they would be contacted by them in a day or so. They were to log all social activity they engaged in that involved the older athlete by filling out the Athlete-mentor Interaction Form. All other subjects served as the controls and they were instructed to log their social activities involving older athletes by filling out the Athlete-mentor Interaction Form, thanked for their time and asked to return in eight weeks to fill-out the questionnaires again. The Athlete-mentor Interaction Forms were handed out to each freshman and they were instructed to fill them out and return them to the investigator each week (for the eight weeks of the study) at either a freshmen orientation class or study hall that all freshmen student-athletes are required to attend. At the end of eight weeks, all freshman student—athletes participating in the study (experimental and controls) were asked to complete the SACQ and the OSIQ. All freshmen completing the post-test SACQ and OSIQ measures were asked if the investigator could contact them later in the school year in order to set-up an interview. During the thirteenth and fourteenth weeks of the second semester the investigator contacted those freshmen who were willing to take part in a 25-minute phone interview concerning the adjustment of college student-athletes. If the subject did not have time to take part in the phone interview at the time of initial phone contact they were asked to indicate a better time to call them back in order to conduct the phone interview. The investigator conducted the individual phone interviews with seven freshmen student-athletes during the fourteenth and fifteenth weeks of the second semester with the goal of providing insight into the mentoring program. The interviews began with a review of the consent form that the subjects had filled-out prior to completing the pretest questionnaire used in this Study. The investigator continued by asking the subjects specific questions (see Appendix H) that were constructed prior to the interview. The questions were related to the mentoring relationship that was established earlier in the school year; 43 difficulties that the freshmen experienced during their first year; and, recommendations for a support program for future freshmen student-athletes. In-depth probes were used by the investigator to clarify a subject's response or to encourage them to elaborate on their response. The subjects were given an opportunity to add any comments or ask any questions at the end of the interview and they were thanked for their time. The tape- recorded responses were transcribed onto computer files and analyzed by the investigator. Imatmentefdata To test the hypotheses that there would be no differences between the two “low- scorer” groups and between the two “high-scorer” groups for the pre-test scores of the OSIQ and the SACQ, a correlation matrix between the subscale pre-test scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ was created to determine their relationships. Subscale scores which were correlated, i.e., correlations greater than or equal to :1; .50, were grouped together and subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance. Any subscales, within each questionnaire, that were found to be significantly correlated were subjected to a 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) MANOVA . Those subscales that were not found to be significantly correlated with any of the other subscales, within each questionnaire, were subjected to separate 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) AN OVAs. To test the hypothesis that the "low-scoring" mentoring group would Show greater difference from the pretest to the post-test scores of the OSIQ and the SACQ than the "high-scoring" mentoring group and both groups not involved in the mentoring program, difference scores were computed between the pre- and post-test subscales of the SACQ and the OSIQ by subtracting the pre-test score from the post-test score. Then, a correlation matrix between the subscale difference scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ was created to determine their relationships. Subscale scores which were correlated, i.e., correlations greater than or equal to j; . 50, were grouped together and subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance. Any subscales, within each questionnaire, that were found to be significantly correlated were subjected to a 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) 44 MANOVA . Those subscales that were not found to be significantly correlated with any of the other subscales, within each questionnaire, were subjected to separate 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) ANOVAS. To test the hypothesis that there were significant differences between the two "high— scoring" groups from the pretest to the post-test on the SACQ and OSIQ subscales, difference scores were computed between the pre- and post-test subscales of the SACQ and the OSIQ by subtracting the pre-test score fi'om the post-test score. Then, a correlation matrix between the subscale difference scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ was created to determine their relationships. Subscale scores which were correlated, i.e., correlations greater than or equal to 3; . 50, were grouped together and subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance. Any subscales, within each questionnaire, that were found to be significantly correlated were subjected to a 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) MANOVA . Those subscales that were found not to be significantly correlated with any of the other subscales, within each questionnaire, were subjected to separate 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) ANOVA. To test the hypothesis that there were no gender differences in the pretest to the post-test subscale scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ, separate one-way ANOVAS were performed for each SACQ and OSIQ difference subscale score. To test the hypothesis that older student-athletes would score higher on the subscales of the SACQ than all freshman student-athletes, t-tests were performed. The data retrieved from the phone interviews were analyzed in relationship to the specific research questions that the investigator asked each freshman. After recording and transcribing the notes, the responses were grouped together in coding categories based on common themes found in the responses of the freshmen. For example, the responses were categorized according to perspectives held by the freshmen (about college adjustment) or the subjects' ways of thinking about people (mentors and others who facilitate their 45 adjustment). The following is an explanation of how the responses for each research question were coded. Questions 1: What were some of the difficulties you had with the transition from high school to college? The responses to this question were grouped and coded according to whether the response was concerning academics, athletics, social, or personal issues. Question 2: What effect did your mentor have with respect to these issues (mentor group)? or, How did you handle these difficulties (no-mentor group)? The responses to this question were grouped and coded according to who/what was the source that facilitated their adjustment in the areas identified in Question 1. That is, the responses were first coded according to the area of difficulty and then were coded according to the source that helped manage that area of difficulty. Question 3: What do you believe to be qualities of an effective mentor? The responses to this question were simply grouped in a listed order. CHAPTER FOUR Results One of the assumptions of this study was that the transition from high school to college could be facilitated with a peer mentoring program. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an athlete-mentoring program on the adjustment of freshman student-athletes as measured by the changes in the SACQ subscale scores of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and attachment and the OSIQ subscale scores of mastery, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone. The results of this study have been organized in three sections. The first section presents demographical data regarding the participants in this study. The second section contains results regarding the SACQ and OSIQ subscales mentioned above. The third section presents results regarding the Athlete-mentor Interaction Forms. ra ' S The total number of freshmen in the study was 58 (M: 18.45 years of age, SD: .50). Twenty-two freshmen served as the experimental group; twenty-three freshmen served as the control group, and; thirteen freshmen from three intercollegiate athletic teams served as a second control group that simply filled out pre- and post-test questionnaires and ,knew nothing of the experiment. A one-way AN OVA was performed to determine whether there were significant age differences among the three groups of freshmen. The results showed that there were no significant differences in age, E(2,56)= 1.27, p>.05. Also, t-tests were performed in order to determine whether there were any differences in pre- and post-intervention adjustment levels between the freshmen control group and the freshmen group that simply filled-out questionnaires and knew nothing of the experiment. The results from the t-test performed for the OSIQ subscale pre-test score of mastery indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=2.06, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the OSIQ subscale pre-test score of superior adjustment indicated that there were no significant differences 46 47 between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.47, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the OSIQ subscale pro-test score of social relationships indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.73, p>.05. The results from the Host performed for the OSIQ subscale pre-test score of emotional tone indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.95, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the SACQ subscale pre-test score of social adjustment indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.38, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the SACQ subscale pre-test score of personal/emotional adjustment indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.22, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the SACQ subscale pre-test score of attachment indicated that there were no Significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=l.44, p>.05. In summary, the results indicated that there were no significant differences in pre-intervention adjustment subscale scores between the two groups. The results from the t-test performed for the OSIQ subscale difference score of mastery indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, 1(36)=1. 10, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the OSIQ subscale difference score of superior adjustment indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.85, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the OSIQ subscale difference score of social relationships indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.63, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the OSIQ subscale difference score of emotional tone indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=2.49, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the SACQ subscale difference score of social adjustment indicated that there were no significant differences between the two 48 groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.93, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the SACQ subscale difference score of personal/emotional adjustment indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.65, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the SACQ subscale difference score of attachment indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups of freshmen, t(36)=1.93, p>.05. In summary, the results indicated that there were no significant differences in pro-intervention adjustment subscale scores or post-intervention adjustment subscale scores between the two groups. Therefore, only the freshmen in the control group were used in this study as a comparison group for those freshmen who received mentors (i.e., experimental group). Characteristics of those 45 freshmen student-athletes are shown in Table 4. Table 4 ac 'ti f hme u t-tlts 7. Race flu! Sex ju African-American 7 Males 23 European-American 36 Females 22 Asian-American 1 European 1 A total of 42 upperclassmen completed the pretest questionnaires in the study. Twenty-four of the upperclassmen (M: 20.86 years of age, @= .97) were chosen to serve as mentors. In the original study by Hester (1990) the upperclassmen who served as mentors were found to be significantly older than the rest of the upperclassmen. A t-test was run in order to determine whether this relationship was present in the current study. The results indicated that there was not a significant difference in age, t(40)= 1.05, p>.05. between the two groups of upperclassmen. 49 W To assess the impact of the athlete-mentor program on freshmen student-athlete’s adjustment levels, freshmen were divided into two groups, based on a median split of pre- test SACQ full-scale scores. Full-scale scores were computed by adding the SACQ subscale scores together for each subject. Those freshmen who scored equal to or above the median of 222, were classified as high-scorers, and those who scored below the median were classified as low-scorers. The first and second hypotheses are presented together due to their similar natures. The first hypothesis stated that there would be no differences between the low- scorers/mentor group and the low-scorers/no mentor group on the pretest subscale scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ. The second hypothesis stated that there would be no differences between the high-scorerS/mentor grOUp and the high-scorers/no mentor group on the pretest subscale scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ. Cell sizes precluded examining all seven subscales simultaneously, thus, a correlation matrix between the subscale pretest scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ was created to determine their relationships and appropriate subgroups of scales for future analyses (see Table 5). Subscale scores which were correlated, i.e., correlations greater than or equal to -_l-_ . 50, were grouped together and subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance. A correlation of .50 would mean that 2 subscales shared 25% of the variance. Those correlations meeting and/or exceeding i .50 included the relationship between the SACQ subscales of social adjustment and attachment and between the OSIQ subscales of mastery, social relationships, and emotional tone; mastery and superior adjustment, and; superior adjustment and social relationships. 50 4:066:38 OOH N 05 H88 35 macaw—8.50 a . 25,—. cos _ Quezon—m ed m e a O So; 83 E a Whom a Bow. R80 83 Eomoammwm . . . . been: .1 so «2% 1 so So _ Nome- moon- 88.- m _ S..- 83 E9=§e< “nugget/w 2 mm. ::. $3. $2. 88.- 83 «www.mww $8 - comm - ES 32 - o2 mm 38 So a Eofiwfiwm A l 28 fl: macaw o 2258.. £253.34 co 2% germ fan a sesame 5a: 2.226% flmwwww a flaws... 863% :2 885 m 033. 51 Based on these significant correlations separate 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) MAN OVAS were performed on the SACQ pretest subscale scores of social adjustment and attachment and on the OSIQ pretest subscale scores of mastery, social relationships, and emotional tone in order to test the hypotheses that there would be no differences within each of the two adjustment groups. The OSIQ subscale of superior adjustment was not included in the MAN OVA because its correlation with the emotional tone subscale did not meet the :t .50 requirement. Support for the hypotheses would be provided only if there was not a significant interaction effect present. Based on group assignment prior to the mentoring program, it was assumed that there would be a significant difference in the pretest SACQ subscale scores for social adjustment and attachment between the two adjustment groups, but the differences between the two treatment groups was unclear. The results of the 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) MANOVA for the SACQ subscales social adjustment and attachment showed that there was a significant effect based on the adjustment group to which the subjects had been assigned, E(2,40)= 9.00, p<.01. Differences in the adjustment groups can be seen by comparing the means for the three subscales presented for the two adjustment groups in Table 6. There was not a significant effect between the treatment groups, E(2,40)= 1.69, p>.05. The results also showed that there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the SACQ subscale scores of social adjustment and attachment, E(2,40)= 1.48, p>.05. The results pertaining to the pretest OSIQ subscale scores of mastery, social relationships, and emotional tone were uncertain based on the fact that the pro-mentoring program group assignment was based on the pretest scores of the SACQ alone, therefore, it was difficult to predict group differences in pretest OSIQ subscale scores. Again, support for the hypotheses would be provided only if there was not a significant interaction effect present. The results of the 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) MANOVA for the OSIQ subscales of mastery, social relationships, and emotional tone showed that there was 52 S: and— Nw.m 3am 2.x. end. Rd 92m i 3.3 omgw mw.mm 2.3 Eda w_.cw 2.3 8.3 1m .2 H:05.._o§< coat. of: mm.» $6 $6 med 3.x mmd dim 2.9. ands S .K 2.2. 2 .mn ~03. Nvdh 2.: 2 86:53:24 Ezezefimfieefiom when and new min was :1: ems haw Dim Suva afimo no. 2: whee 94.3 mafia wmdo 3:9 2 STE $75 87.5 an: sans fins smug 8T5 E2533 38m EU 95 EU mwm EU 195 33 :35 03893 OUQWI 9.80 30888... x @380 EoEfi=€< 9.80 2253:. 9.80 25:3in 0 03mm. 53 not a significant effect based on the adjustment group to which the subjects were assigned, E(3,39)= .31, p>.05. Likewise, there was not a significant effect for treatment group, E(3,39)= .37, p>.05. Finally, there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the OSIQ subscale scores of mastery, social relationships, and emotional tone, E(3,39)= .35, p>.05. Means and standard deviations are presented in Table 7. There was not a significant correlation between the SACQ subscale of personal/emotional adjustment and either of the other two SACQ subscales, nor was there a significant correlation between the OSIQ subscales of family relationships, superior adjustment, and any of the other OSIQ subscales. Those subscales that were not significantly correlated with any of their respective questionnaire subscales were treated individually through the use of a 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) AN OVA. The results concerning the OSIQ subscale family relationships will be disregarded in this section due to the fact that the hypotheses made in this study do not include predicted changes in the family relationships subscale. It was assumed that, like the MAN OVAs mentioned previously, there would be a significant difference in the pretest SACQ subscale scores for personal/emotional adjustment between the two adjustment groups, based on the group assignment prior to the intervention. However, the differences in pretest SACQ subscale scores for the two treatment groups were less predictable. Support for the hypotheses would be provided if there was not a significant interaction effect present. The results of the 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) ANOVA for the SACQ subscale personal/emotional adjustment showed that there was a significant effect based on adjustment group assignment, E( 1,41 )= 7.57, p<.0l. This can be seen by comparing the means of the two adjustment groups in Table 6. The results showed that there was not a significant effect based on which treatment group the subject was assigned to for the SACQ subscale personal/emotional adjustment, E( l ,4l)=.02, p>.05. The results also showed 54 :5 66 w; New! 2; :3 c2 2:. 03% 3mm 8.2 3% 8.3” $3 2 .2 3% Wm E25351 Stunsm o: :6 2.0 8.0 v2 and win ode a $3 83 Exam E. _ N 5% $2 5.8 2.3 .2. @2me a; 9% 3m 3.» mg as 3c 93 a 3.5 3.5 omdm $.95 3.5 5.5 v05 $65 .2 mafimcoaflom 38m 36 86 No.5 3.9 2.0 no.0 96 56 mm v05 vmdm ongmm own 8.5 3.5 905 5.5 3 fins 5.1.5 8. "5 ans fins anus 6W5 875 2.8. acoaoEm Eu Sm Eu .5 Eu 9m 33 $5 «Hana 050 980 80:53:. x Eon—amigo, @580 288889 955 “58333,. 325m SW :82 h 2an 55 that there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the SACQ subscale score of personal/emotional adjustment, E(1,41)=.01, p>.05. Predictions made on the pretest OSIQ subscale scores for superior adjustment were more difficult based on the fact that it was not used for group assignment prior to the mentoring program. Again, support for the hypotheses would be provided only if there was not a significant interaction effect present. The results of the 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) ANOVA for the OSIQ subscale of superior adjustment showed that there was not a significant effect based on adjustment group assignment, E(1,4l )=.83, p>.05. The results showed that there was not a significant effect based on which treatment group the subject was assigned to for the OSIQ of subscale superior adjustment, E(1,41)=.05, p>.05. The results also showed that there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the OSIQ subscale of superior adjustment, E(1,41)=.27, p>.05. Means and standard deviations are presented in Table 7. The results reported above supported the hypotheses that there would be no differences in pretest SACQ and OSIQ subscales between the treatment groups (within each of the two adjustment groups). The third and fourth hypotheses will also be presented together due to their similarities. The third hypothesis stated that the low-scoring student-athletes who were assigned a mentor (low—scorers/mentor group) would show a greater difference in scores from the pre—test to the post—test on the SACQ subscales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and attachment and the OSIQ subscales of mastery, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone than the low- and high- scoring student-athletes who were not assigned a mentor (low-scorers/no mentor group and high-scorers/no mentor group, respectively), as well as the high-scoring student-athletes who were assigned a mentor (high-scorers/mentor group). The fourth hypothesis stated that the high-scoring student'athletes who were assigned a mentor (high-scorers/mentor group) would not show a greater difference in scores from the pre-test to the post-test on 56 the SACQ subscales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and attachment and the OSIQ subscales of mastery, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone than the high-scoring student-athletes who were not assigned a mentor (high-scorers/no mentor group). In order to test these hypotheses, difference scores were computed between the pre- and post-test subscale scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ by subtracting each subject’s pre- test subscale score from their corresponding post-test subscale score. It should be noted that a negative mean score indicates that the subjects' adjustment scores for a particular subscale after the 8-week mentoring program was lower than their adjustment scores prior to the mentoring program. Because difference scores were being used as dependent variables rather than subscale scores, a correlation matrix between the subscale difference scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ was in order to determine their relationships and deveIOp appropriate grouping of subscales before comparing means (see Table 8). Subscale difference scores which were correlated, i.e., correlations greater than or equal to :t .50, were grouped together and subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance. A correlation of .50 would mean that 2 subscales shared 25% of the variance. Those correlations meeting and/or exceeding 1 .50 included only the relationship between the SACQ subscales of social adjustment and attachment. It is worth noting here that these results are quite different from those found in the correlation matrix created for the pretest subscale scores of the SACQ and the OSIQ (see Table 5). This would suggest that even though relationships between subscales existed prior to the mentoring program, it seems that the subjects in this study did not exhibit those same subscale relationships after the intervention. .EoEEEUE ow.I+. N 05 “BE :2: macaw—2.50 a ooo. o 25F EcouoEm 50v. coo. H mmecoufloM 38m . . . EoEumsF< . mp5 535 coo _ Stomaw ” SR. 2 R. 83. 83 baa: , 7 5 tom: 5: m; 25.. $2 .- ooo._ “canons/x EoEomswé Eom. Nwmo. as. ocho. 5V2 .- ooo; fiwwwnwfiw :9: man ohmo. 955.. mm 5.. meor moovo. mom _ .- ooo; H “3.0”.“ Hangman/u. , 25H mafiaosflom EoEomzwz . EoEfiio< o w acouoam 38m Stasm Dem“: E05532 mmmwmmxw 38m :8 saw BO 05 Ea U.05. It is worth noting here that the E-value for this analysis approached significance (p_=.08). Upon further investigation of the univariate tests of significance it was found that there was a significant effect based on the adjustment group assignment for the SACQ subscale of social adjustment, E(1,40)= 5.09, p<.05. This difference in subscale scores between the two adjustment groups can be seen in Table 9. Interestingly, the poorly-adjusted athletes 59 showed a positive difference (i.e., better adjustment) in the SACQ subscale social adjustment from pre- to post-test and the well-adjusted athletes showed a negative difference (i.e., worse adjustment). Also, there was support for the mentoring program in that those poorly-adjusted athletes who received a mentor were the only group to show a positive difference in subscale scores from pre- to post-testing. The results showed that there was not a significant effect based on the treatment group assignment for the SACQ subscales of social adjustment and attachment, E(2,40)= 1.06, p>.05. The results also showed that there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the SACQ subscales of social adjustment and attachment, E(2,40)= .24, p>.05. However, an interesting, although not significant, result found in Table 9 is that the poorly-adjusted athletes who received mentors were the only group to show a positive difference in attachment subscale scores from pre- to post-testing. The fact that the poorly- adjusted athletes who received mentors showed improvement on the social adjustment and attachment subscales over the first 8-10 weeks of college life suggests that the mentoring program had a positive effect on their transition to college. The small sample size may have precluded these observed differences from being significant. There was not a significant correlation between the SACQ subscale of personal/emotional adjustment and either of the other two SACQ subscales, nor was there a significant correlation between any of the OSIQ subscale difference scores. Those subscales that were not significantly correlated with any of their respective questionnaire subscales were treated individually through the use of a 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) AN OVA. These analyses were performed on the SACQ difference subscale scores of personal/emotional adjustment and the OSIQ subscale scores of mastery, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone in order to test the hypothesis that those poorly-adjusted athletes who received a mentor would show a greater difference in scores from the pretest to the post-test on the SACQ and OSIQ subscales than all other 60 .58on mew—8:05 e5 2 Std 85% 5:055:98 :05 55 332 203 .52on were—85 503$ 05 column 2833 5:255 a So 358 5255.55 28.3%; 05 35 8:865 0.58 :35 038mg < .202 m2: 3.: 3.: mod Eno— 5.: 3.: mod— aw 3.5- co.“V wmd- 3:. Ed. R..— mm. R5- .2 55:85 3.5— 5.x mo.» 36 mo.~_ wws ooo— ovs dd $6 em; out? 55. H - 3..— 3. S .v mod- .2. Eo53€< Ecosofimsgoflom omd 3.2 5.2 owfi 55o— . m5: 3.: :5 film oar $6 3.6. owd- mv.m- 3 ._ ow; ova- ISIH fins fins §n5 Sue cams fins sans SE: .558? Room :6 5m .5 5m :6 %m 33 .55 oaownadu.05. The results also showed that there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the SACQ personal/emotional adjustment subscale, E( 1,41): 2.25, p>.05. The results of the 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) ANOVA for the OSIQ mastery subscale showed that there was not a significant effect based on adjustment group assignment, E(1,41)= .513, p>.05. Likewise, there was not a significant effect based on which treatment group the subject was assigned to for the OSIQ mastery subscale, 62 E(l,4l)= .130, p>.05. The results also showed that there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the OSIQ mastery subscale, E(1,41)= 1.98, p>.05. Means and standard deviations are presented in Table 10. The results of the 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) AN OVA for the OSIQ superior adjustment subscale showed that there was not a significant effect based on adjustment group assignment, E(1,4l)= .018, p>.05. The results showed that there was not a significant effect based on which treatment group the subject was assigned to for the OSIQ superior adjustment subscale, E(1,41)= .134, p>.05. The results also showed that there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the OSIQ superior adjustment subscale, E( l ,41)= 1.26, p>.05. Means and standard deviations are presented in Table 10. The results of the 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) ANOVA for the OSIQ social relationships subscale showed that there was not a significant effect based on adjustment group assignment, E(1,41)= 1.81, p>.05. The results showed that there was not a significant effect based on which treatment group the subject was assigned to for the OSIQ social relationships subscale, E(1,41)= 2.16, p>.05. The results also showed that there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the OSIQ social relationships subscale, E(1,41)= 1.87, p>.05. It is interesting to note that the poorly-adjusted athletes who received a mentor were the only group to show negative differences (i.e., worse adjustment) in the social relationships subscale (see Table 10). It may be that some freshmen felt uncomfortable being matched with an older teammate and this adversely affected their ability to make friendships. 63 .E8w05 wctofioE 2: 05 SE 3.08 82:85.58 52: .85 530. 803 E8w08 @8082: xoOB-w 05 5.8 2803.; 83258 a 80% 8.58 3258.88 .3838 05 85 38065 808 .82: 0283: < .202 mcfi mos. wafi S .5 mad mob wmd NW6 % mm; mm.- Ov. mm. on; E .- :2 Nm. 2- umo-r 8.85025 Vmfi _m.m vmé mad 32v wmd mow mvé Dim Eu mN.m- ow. OD; wh. Om. _ - mm. _ - am. 2 82808—3“ Eoom 5N.w Omd 056 wmé 0N4- N©.m MNR 0N6 dim mm. 55.. omA- MK.— mvr mm. a .- mo. 2 E25ms€< Steam fins—V m©.m voé. Sin 2 .v mod mod vwé a cw. E..- Omf vim vo. mm. m_.- mm. 2 in: fins are an: fine fins cans are Ea: 30 9m 30 A5 So 9a 33 my: - 8033-080 33 :3: 0:080 80580:- x EoEHmswé 0:080 82:80.:- 980 E2539? 8.803 m 50 2: 00 8.00m 08202.5 05 00.5 828309 080383 2 038,—. 64 The results of the 2x2 (adjustment group x treatment group) ANOVA for the OSIQ emotional tone subscale showed that there was not a significant effect based on adjustment group assignment, E(1,41)= .071, p>.05. The results showed that there was not a significant effect based on which treatment group the subject was assigned to for the OSIQ emotional tone subscale, E(1,41)= .598, p>.05. The results also showed that there was no significant interaction effect between adjustment group and treatment group on the OSIQ emotional tone subscale, E(1,41)= .333, p>.05. Means and standard deviations are presented in Table 10. These results only partially supported the hypothesis that those student—athletes who were poorly-adjusted and received a mentor would experience greater improvement in adjustment scores after the mentoring program. That is, a trend was found to exist for only one of the seven subscales. According to the social adjustment subscale difference score those freshmen who were poorly-adjusted and received a mentor showed more improvement from pre- to post-test scores than did any of the other three groups. An interesting, although not statistically significant, finding was that the poorly-adjusted experimental group had higher difference score means on two of the three subscales of the SACQ (i.e., social adjustment and attachment). A lack of significance found between the four groups may be due, in part to the relatively large standard deviations that were found to exist for all groups. This suggests that there was quite a difference in adjustment levels within each of the four groups and comparison across groups was less powerful because of the lack of within group congruence. Another point to consider is the relatively large variation in difference scores for the SACQ subscales compared to the OSIQ subscales. The standard deviations of the SACQ subscales ranged from 6.648 to 12.938, with a mean of 10.07, compared to that of the OSIQ subscales (3.978 to 11.64, with a mean of 6.28). This points to the fact that there was more consistency in scoring among the subjects for the OSIQ subscales than for the SACQ subscales. 65 The results did support the hypothesis that those freshmen student-athletes who were well-adjusted and received a mentor would not experience a greater difference in adjustment scores, after mentoring, than those well—adjusted student-athletes who did not receive a mentor. In summary, no significant differences were found between the low-adjusted freshman student-athletes that received a mentor and those low-adjusted freshman student- athletes that did not receive a formal mentor, as well as both highoadjusted groups of student-athletes. Thus, it was concluded that the 8-week mentoring program did not provide sufficient support to effect the level of adjustment of a freshman student-athlete as measured by the SACQ subscales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, attachment and the OSIQ subscales of mastery, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone. The fifth hypothesis stated that there would be no gender differences when comparing the SACQ difference subscale scores of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and attachment and the OSIQ difference subscale scores of mastery of the external world, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone. In order to test this hypothesis, one-way AN OVAs were performed for each difference subscale score. The results of the one-way ANOVA performed for the SACQ subscale difference scores for social adjustment indicate that there were no significant differences, E(1,43)= .411, p>.05, in adjustment between males and females. The results of the one-way ANOVA performed for the SACQ subscale difference scores for personal/emotional adjustment indicate that there were no significant differences, E( l ,43)= .275, p>.05. in adjustment between males and females. The results of the one-way ANOVA performed for the SACQ subscale difference scores for attachment indicate that there were no significant differences, E(1,43)= .456, p>.05, in adjustment between males and females. The results of the one-way ANOVA performed for the OSIQ subscale difference scores for mastery of the external world indicated that there were no significant differences, 66 E(1,43)= 1.605, p>.05, in adjustment between males and females. The results of the one- way AN OVA performed for the OSIQ subscale difference scores for superior adjustment indicated that there were no significant differences, E(1,43)== .545, p>.05, in adjustment between males and females. The results of the one-way AN OVA performed for the OSIQ subscale difference scores for social relationships indicated that there were no significant differences, E(l,43)= .220, p>.05, in adjustment between males and females. The results of the one-way AN OVA performed for the OSIQ subscale difference scores for emotional tone indicate that there were no significant differences, E(1,43)= .004, p>.05, in adjustment between males and females. In summary, no significant differences were found between males and females on any of the SACQ or OSIQ subscale difference scores. That is, there seems to be no difference in adjustment to college between male and female athletes. The sixth hypothesis stated that the mentors in this study would have higher SACQ pre-test subscale scores of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and attachment than the freshmen in the experimental and the control group. In order to test this hypothesis, t-tests were performed between the mentors and the forty-five freshmen in the experimental or control groups for the pre-test SACQ subscale scores. Those freshmen who simply filled-out questionnaires and knew nothing of the study were excluded from this analysis. The results from the t-test performed for the SACQ subscale pre-test score of social adjustment indicated that there were no significant differences between mentors and the freshmen in this study, t(67)=1.34, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the SACQ subscale pre-test score of personal/emotional adjustment indicated that there were no significant differences between mentors and the freshmen in this study, t(67)= 1.15, p>.05. The results from the t-test performed for the SACQ subscale pre-test score of attachment indicated that there were no significant differences between mentors and the freshmen in this study, t(67)= 1.53, p>.05. 67 It is interesting that the mentors in this study did not score significantly higher than the freshmen on any of the SACQ adjustment measures . One would assume that those athletes who have had more of an opportunity to get used to the college environment would be more well-adjusted than the athletes who are new on campus. This lack of significant findings may suggest that the older athletes who were assigned a freshman student-athlete were not as well-adjusted as the coaches and researcher had h0ped. It is possible that this had an influence on the quality of mentoring relationships that was established in the present study. ete- t cti s In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the peer—mentoring program and to monitor the social interaction between the mentors and their mentees, all subjects in this study were asked to hand-in an Athlete-mentor interaction form each week detailing the type and duration of activity they were engaged in for that week. Both the freshmen who received mentors and those who did not receive mentors were asked to hand-in these forms to get an idea of whether any informal mentor relationships were established by the freshmen. The mentors were asked to hand-in the forms so that the investigator could check the accuracy of the mentees' forms. The mentors and their mentees were also asked to indicate whether they had discussed academics, sport/team issues, social issues, or personal issues by marking the appropriate box on the Athlete-mentor form (see Appendix C). The activities recorded by the mentors and the freshmen are shown in Table 11. The percentages in Table 11 provide a better understanding of the types of activities that the subjects engaged in and how many athletes in each group actually participated. The most common activity engaged in by all groups was going to parties and other social gatherings. The most popular activities reported by the mentors were going to parties and athletic events. The most popular activities reported by the freshmen were going to parties, other social gatherings and athletic events. Logistically, the percentages given for the mentors should be similar to that of the two experimental groups. 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N E v 2% m 255 02022 N _.: _ ode N 28 2 SN N S: _ 832: e 4.3. v 28 _ ode N n: _ S: 2 .2209... .28 m 3m N 28 N 98 N Sn 4 can m 828 2 3% 4 ed o o.oN _ SN 2 ed o S: _ has: 2 22% N 3 o SN 2 o.oN _ n: 2 3: _ $20 2 22% N Z _ _ ed o 28 _ od o 3: _ macaw _ as 4“? § in we hum! as W as Lam 5:632 75:00 Econ—tong 3.5.80 @585qu 5&5.on 3:33-350; 5:5on 352.8333 €952 33 Evan— o§> 32F a we 558$ Ba E 88 ESE 2352 n :oEnmEm on>so< 2 03mm. 69 noted that the freshmen were asked to report all activity engaged in with any older athlete on the team, as well as, their mentors, whereas, the mentors were simply asked to report all activity engaged in with their mentee. This explains the discrepancy found between the percentages for the two groups. An interesting result is that the poorly-adjusted control group has lower percentages on five of the fourteen activity categories than all of the other four groups. When you consider the fact that those in the well-adjusted control group have an easier time getting involved in activities, this last finding suggests that a larger number of mentored student- athletes participate in more of these types of activities. This, again, provides support that a program that offers a freshmen an opportunity to socially adjust to college can be helpful. A more compelling argument is found when comparing the percentages of the two poorly- adjusted groups. Based on those percentages, more poorly-adjusted freshmen that received mentors participated more in nine of the fourteen activities than did those who did not receive a mentor. The current investigator had hoped that the Athlete-mentor forms could be used to cross-check the information given by each mentor and their mentee in order to check for accuracy. The credibility of only five of the 22 athlete-mentor pairings were able to be analyzed due to lack of adequate information. Two freshmen subjects shared a moderate amount (approximately 10-50%) of similar responses with their mentors. Two freshmen subjects had exactly the same responses as their mentors. And, one freshman subject shared no similarities with his/her mentor. The discrepancy in the responses shown by the subjects may be due to a lack of understanding concerning the instructions on how to fill- out the form. Some of the subjects may have simply fabricated their responses in order to please their coaches or the researcher. A summary analysis was performed on each of the weekly forms that were completed and returned in order to determine what types of issues were discussed by the subjects. The results for the mentors indicated that 38% of the discussions were team- 70 related; 28% were academic-related; 24% were related to social issues; and, 31% were related to personal issues. The results for the freshmen showed that 27% of the discussions were team-related; 22% were academic-related; 29% were related to social issues; and, 37% were related to personal issues. The results showed that there is some congruency in what the mentors and their mentees reported in terms of what issues were discussed. However, it seems that the discussions involving the team are more important for the older athlete, whereas, the freshmen are more concerned with personal issues. This last finding points to the importance of a program that provides the freshman student-athlete with the opportunity to discuss personal issues with others. Twenty-nine percent of the forms were returned by all of the subjects in this study. The mentors returned 28% of their forms and the freshmen returned 30% of their forms. It is interesting to note that the two highest return rates were from the well-adjusted experimental group (44%) and the poorly—adjusted control group (35%). Unfortunately, the group of particular interest, the poorly-adjusted experimental group, had the lowest return rate (21%). Fifty-nine percent of the mentors and 51% of the freshmen returned at least one form over the eight week program. There were four out of the forty-five freshmen and none of the twenty-four mentors that returned all eight of the forms. 52mm The athlete-mentor program that used upperclass student-athletes from the same team to guide freshman student-athletes did not support the hypotheses that freshmen receiving the mentoring would experience a better adjustment to college than those freshman student-athletes who did not receive mentoring. There were no significant differences between the two well—adjusted groups and between the two poorly-adjusted groups on the pretest SACQ subscale scores of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and attachment or the pretest OSIQ subscale scores of mastery of the external world, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone prior to the intervention. There were no significant differences between the two well-adjusted groups 71 and the two poorly-adjusted groups on the SACQ subscale scores of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and attachment or the OSIQ subscale scores of mastery of the external world, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone after the 8- week mentoring program. There were interesting trends in the results of this study, regarding the poorly-adjusted athletes who received mentors, that warrant further investigation. CHAPTER FIVE Discussion The literature presented in this study presents a substantial argument that freshman student-athletes face a unique transitional period when entering college. Also, it is evident that academic and team transitions are not the only components of the adjustment to college. Personal and social issues have quite an impact on a person during these challenging times and social support provides a tool that freshmen can use to face difficult situations. The research done by Rosenfeld, Richman, and Hardy (1989) suggests that providing freshman student-athletes with the necessary types of support will increase the chances that they will experience a more positive transition to college. This chapter has been organized into six sections in order to address the previous findings regarding the athlete-mentor program as well as provide insight for further research. The first section provides an overview of the program and its purpose. The second section addresses the lack of significant findings in the study. The qualitative data that were collected from the freshmen in this study are presented in this section. The third and fourth section present methodological and conceptual explanations concerning this study. The fifth and sixth sections present the implications of this study as well as recommendations for future research. t r r am The purpose of the athlete-mentor program was to help freshmen student—athletes make a successful social and personal transition from high school to college. Upperclass students served as mentors because they had made it through this challenging adjustment period and it was the belief of coaches and this investigator that they would be effective guides for the freshman student-athletes. The mentor program that was implemented in this study did not show any significant changes in adjustment for freshman student-athletes but there were some trends that were recorded. Specifically, those poorly-adjusted student- athletes who received a mentor showed more positive increases in the areas of adjustment 72 73 that are related to interpersonal relationship development and the student's relationship with the university itself. The main hypothesis stated that those poorly-adjusted student-athletes who received a mentor would show greater difference in scores from the pretest to the post-test on the scales of mastery of the external world, superior adjustment, social relationships, and emotional tone, from the OSIQ and the scales of social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment and goal commitment/institutional attachment from the SACQ than the poorly— adjusted student-athletes who did not receive mentoring. It was also hypothesized that those poorly-adjusted student-athletes who received a mentor would show greater difference in SACQ and OSIQ scores than both groups of well—adjusted student-athletes after an 8-week period. The results of this study did not support the hypothesis that peer mentoring would result in an easier adjustment to college life. However, the results did provide a better understanding of what freshman student-athletes experience as they adjust to college life and what can be done to facilitate that adjustment. tion f ' d' ali 've es 1 The main focus of this study was the personal and social adjustments that freshman student-athletes are faced with as they enter college. It is obvious that these two components do not act independently on an individual's adjustment, however, they are areas that are rarely considered when researching the adjustment of athletes to college . But it is the reality of college sports that academics and team issues are of paramount importance. That is, keeping a scholarshipped athlete eligible and in "game—condition" is important to athletes, coaches, and administrators. In fact, according to the responses of the seven athletes who took part in the phone interviews, most were concerned about academics. When asked what difficulties they experienced during their fiesMan year, the freshmen athletes responded with the following: Okay, I think that academics, it was pretty much, there's a lot more reading and things involved and doing things on your own because you're not in class, like, twenty-four hours a day, like you are in high school. 74 Another freshman agreed that it was the quantity and complexity of work that caused the difficulties: I guess academics wasn't too hard like, in the Fall, but once we got into [the athletic] season, I found it a lot harder to keep up with the time required for school. But, like, the overall work was more difficult. Time demands were a concern for others, as one athlete stated: Oh, geez. It's not so much as hard, it's just that it‘s time consuming. The amount of time that needs to be directed toward reading papers and actually comprehending and taking in all the information from class. The difficulties regarding academics are focused on the amount of time needed to study and the complexity of their studies. All of the freshmen taking part in the interviews had at least some concerns regarding academics and, when asked the question about college adjustment, five of the seven athletes mentioned academics first before any other area of adjustment. There were also concerns regarding the necessary adjustments in their team environments. When asked about general difficulties with college life, the subjects responded with the following: The swimming and the athletics it's, urn, really different, in that you're with your team all the time because we practice a lot more. The practices are a lot more intense than they were in high school. So, you're constantly with your team members and you really have to be able to get along with them and handle different situations with them. There were also athletes who were experiencing difficulty with the higher talent levels at college compared to their high school experiences: Athletics was a lot different, I guess, it just seemed like a lot more serious than it was in high school, like a different level, and all the players were different. In high school we really didn't take it that seriously. it was having more fun and, now, it's like winning's the most important thing. It was really overwhelming as a freshman coming in. Well, I walked on and, so, it was just really overwhelming for me because everyone seems so good, ya' know. And it was hard because the competition levels were so different, like, at high school you were the big thing and then you come here and you start off, like, you're dirt. 75 Others were concerned with the time demands of their sport and how that detracted from other areas of their life: We had practices everyday. It usually took two, two and a half hours. We had different meetings where we’d have to go over NCAA rules and regulations, what you can and cannot do. Basically, just kinda’ , you know, practices took up most of the time. We don’t have as much study time, and, like, you know, time to ourselves. With having to play a sport, you know, with having practices and study hall, your day was just set before you got outta’ bed. Well, the practices themselves weren't that much harder. It was the time you had to put into it. There was so much more time like, there were so many more practices and like, the time involved was much bigger. One athlete suggested that the demands were too great for athletes to even be able to compete, as she stated: It' s a lot of pressure and the NCAA's going through a thing now where they don't know if they want to let freshman athletes, of the Big Ten, compete, and I think that would be wise. Just because, I think that being an athlete and a freshman has a lot more pressure than it appears to be and that people think it is. I think we need the first year to adjust, I mean, to still practice with the team, and be with the team but I don't think that we should have the pressure of competing the first year. The responses here indicate that the difficulties experienced with athletics are due to many aspects of the entire college transition, such as, getting along with new people, adjusting to increased workloads, and increased competition levels. Many of the difficulties mentioned by the athletes involved combinations of difficulty areas but there were clear examples of social and personal difficulties given by the athletes. One athlete stated that: I guess for me, I was the out-of-state person and there aren‘t a lot of athletes from out-of-state so I didn't know anyone here. So that was a big change for me, making completely all new friends. I mean, I haven‘t met anyone here that I knew before. So, that was a big thing for me. The personal issues mentioned by the athletes were related to the individual's role as either a student or an athlete. In terms of their role as a student, one athlete responded with the following: 76 I guess, just the whole concept of being at a school that's got forty thousand people. I came from a really small high school and it's still hard for me to feel like I have a place in this university because it's so big. And, um, it's kinda' hard to define, like, who you are as a person because there are so many people out there and it's kinda' hard not to feel like a number just because there are so many students. Um, that's, like one thing that I'm still struggling with now. The personal issues related to an individual's role as an athlete were felt by the athletes to be just as important as their role as a student. One athlete stated: . . . not that I was treated like dirt but, I mean, I just felt like that, because that's where my competition level was when I came in because I didn't have a lot of self-confidence and stuff. So, it was'kinda' hard. Looking at the responses given by the subjects in this study, it seems that the difficulties they experienced during their first year in college fall into one or more of the areas pertaining to academics, athletics, social, or personal. The freshmen consistently reported that they experienced more challenges directly related to academics and athletics than they did to social and personal issues. Thus, freshman student—athletes are not as concerned with social and personal issues regarding the transition to college as they are with academics and athletics. Therefore, a transition program concentrating on academics and athletics may be seen as more helpful than the type of program used in this study. The difficulties that the freshmen experienced with academics were associated with the amount of time required of them to keep up with their schoolwork. Most of them did not seem to realize that the time required for schoolwork in college would increase significantly. Also, the freshmen struggled with the freedom they were given in terms of choosing when to attend class. One freshman interviewed for this study did not feel that the difficulties present early in the year had gotten any better as of the time the data were collected. The difficulties that the freshmen experienced with their sport was due to the increased intensity levels of practices and events, as well as the increased levels of competition on their team and on other teams. Some of the difficulty experienced here was related to the experience of personal difficulties such as self-identifying and a decrease in 77 self-confidence. They were also related to experiences of academic difficulties as the combination of the two was seen as putting freshmen under extreme pressure. ' The difficulties experienced in the social area of the college transition were due to lack of time available to meet others because of the time demands of their sport and their classes. The difficulties experienced in the personal area of the college transition were due to a combination of pressures felt from academic and athletic demands, as well as feelings of being lost on the campus of a large university. Some freshmen were faced with problems of self—identification caused by their new environment. Another reason for a lack of a significant effect of the mentor program may have been due to an ineffective mentoring relationship or the lack of contact with someone who could help with the adjustment. The investigator attempted to create interaction between mentors and athletes by pointing out the positive impact that a well-adjusted freshman could have on the team and by monitoring the interaction of mentors and freshmen. However, as was evident by the inconsistencies in the Athlete-mentor Interaction Forms, the amount of activity engaged in by the mentors and freshmen was less than desired. When the four athletes who were assigned mentors were asked how much time they spent socially with their mentor they responded with the following: I would say maybe, an hour or two, a week, outside of practice. At most, probably, I’d say seven or eight hours total outside of practice. Not much at the beginning of the semester. But more as the year went on. We would spend a couple hours a week, outside of practice just hanging out. We didn’t really make plans. We would just be at team parties, or something outside of swimming. Me and her, we really didn't relate very well I don't think. It [not forming a mentoring relationship with mentor] might have gone back to the lack of self-confidence thing. Because she [mentor] was our star swimmer and, at the time, she just had a different image of the way thin gs [were]. I just thought she was on a way different level than I was at the time. We never really became great friends all year. I mean, we became friends and we like, tolerated each other. It's not like we ever had problems with each other but she wasn't one to reach out to any of the freshmen and take us under her wing. One of the freshmen indicated that she was not assigned a mentor even though the investigator's notes indicated that she was assigned to the group that received mentors. 78 There was only sufficient information, to check for consistency across the mentoring pair, from the activity logs for one of the four pairings. Further investigation of the activity logs handed in by the freshmen and their mentor showed that few consistencies existed between the two. However, when the same freshman was asked what his mentor did to help with any difficulties experienced, he responded: He made it easier. He made you feel like, one of the guys on the team. Coming in it's kind of hard; you're overwhelmed with a lot of the guys. You're thinking, that maybe you can't stack up against them. But, he made you feel like you were wanted there, that they needed you, that you were part of the team. And, [mentor] made himself available, too. If you had any questions or just wanted to talk to him about something. He did make it easier. Again, this last response provides evidence that the subjects in this study did not fully understand how to complete the Athlete—mentor Interaction forms. The responses on the form itself did not indicate much interaction but the freshmen expressed information that was quite different. There were some instances when the freshmen (those assigned a mentor and those without a mentor) had formed informal relationships with older athletes who were not assigned as their mentors. Relationships of this nature were most often formed in order to facilitate the athletic and social adjustment of the freshmen. The athletes responded with: The seniors helped with [adjusting to] athletics because they were always trying to organize activities where the whole team was involved. I think they [seniors] had a real big influence in trying to keep the team [together] as a single unit instead of breaking up into little cliques. Older guys help you outwith your game. They would give you advice on your position, batting tips, and stuff. They have more experience playing in college. There were other girls on the team who really helped me and stuff, but my mentor, in particular, wasn't really one of them. They [other older teammates] took us [freshmen] out and stuff. . . I just liked that camaraderie. I just liked getting to know them [teammates]. That was fun. We just became a big family. They just all became my sisters. That's usually how it is with my sport. Everyone's just really close on the team and stuff. That was one thing that was like high school, because my high school team was really close. So, I think that really kind of helped and put me back in my comfort zone. All of the freshmen swimmers got along great. We just kind of clicked together really well and that was like, an immediate group of friends. And then also the upperclassmen were great. I mean, we would party with them all the time. We would hang out with them after practices and on weekends. 79 It is interesting to note that the majority of these informal relationships were formed with groups of people, as opposed to an individual. In fact, according to the Athlete-mentor Interaction Forms, a majority the activities reported by the freshmen involved groups. This suggests that freshmen may benefit more form an intervention that focuses on group interaction and support. Oppenheimer (1984) and Schwitzer, McGovern, and Robbins (1991) found that students who were more vulnerable to a poor transition benefited more from a group intervention program that focused on social adjustment stress. It is not known whether this type of program would work with athletes but it is an interesting point to consider for future research. The freshmen also reported other forms of assistance that had facilitated their adjustment. These aides were used mainly for concerns related to academics and personal issues and they were not often provided by the mentor. One athlete responded with the following: Outside of the team, I have a lot of good friends who were there who tried to make things a little easier. They [non-teammates] would spend a lot of time with me and we'd eat dinner together and just talk because they live in the same dorm as I do. So, we would talk and they let it be known that ifI needed anything they were there. They provided a lot more support together, as a whole. They were just there for me more; understood a little more. A majority of the seven freshmen reported that study halls and study groups helped them manage their academics: I think that freshman study hall really helps a lot. Um, and then also, on the swim team there are other people in the same classes that I was and so we kinda' had the same schedule, like with practices and stuff so we could make time to study, like around those practice times. I think that, urn, that doing group study is really hing else to do there except important. It's [study hall] a quiet place and there's not] study. There's also tutors, so if you ever have a problem you can go and talk to the tutors. We had study hall and stuff that we had to go to and, so, I kinda' kept my nose to the grindstone. I think that freshmen study hall really helps a lot. It's a quiet place and there‘s nothing else to do there except study. And there's tutors and everything so if you ever have a problem you can go and talk to the tutors. There's other athletes, too, that are studying so you kinda' don't feel alone. 80 Some athletes simply felt that they were responsible for making it through challenging adjustment periods. The athletes stated: Basically on my own. I picked a couple [other swimmers] out that were the fastest and I tried the best I could to hang with them in practice and I worked 110%. And for school I just had to make myself study. I just set times that I could be with my friends and trme that I needed to study. In terms of academics, my grades weren't that bad last semester [fall] but all my classes were really easy and it hit me that I didn't really do anything last semester. 3.23, I knew that ifI did that again this semester [spring], I wouldn't be doing very It may be that freshmen adjust to college by learning from the challenges faced during their fust year. Or, it may be that they do not feel that the difficulties experienced are significant enough to warrant assistance from others. Flett, Blankstein, Hicken, and Watson (1995) found that the subjects in their study only sought out social support when they perceived their challenges to be severely stressful events. Freshman student-athletes face a competitive environment where expressions of frustration with daily hassles are often interpreted by others as whining and weaknesses. The result is that the freshmen may be confused as to whether their problems are serious or not and they often avoid discussing them with others who can help. It may also be that freshmen feel that their relationships with other teammates is a source of stress. Over-exposure to teammates can be a source of stress, itself, and that can deter freshman student-athletes from seeking assistance from other teammates. Hays and Oxley (1986) pointed out that tension between support networks can be especially high when anxiety levels are high due to outside forces (e.g., exams and big meets). It is possible that a mentoring relationship with an older athlete on the same team does not allow the freshman student-athlete time to concentrate on other issues than their respective sport. The introduction of a non-athlete mentor is a suggestion that would appear to prevent such problems, however, six out of the seven athletes who took part in the interviews indicated that they preferred a mentor on their same team. The athletes indicated that: 81 I would prefer someone on the team. Just because, I mean, all my really close friends are on the team. So even though I have a lot of friends not on the team, a lot of them are [on the team]. It's just better 'cause they understand, you know, all the everyday things I have to go through with workout and stuff. Someone on my team definitely. Just because our team is so close and that it would, I mean, it [mentoring relationship] would work out great since we spend so much time together. I think for an athlete, I think that they should be assigned maybe, an older athlete in their sport. For a student, another student [mentor] would be good. But I think that for the sport, for a team sport, having another teammate would be the best. One athlete felt that her preference for a mentor was dependent on whether the team was in season: Well, during swim season, probably. Just because that's the people I spend like, all my time with. But, out of swim season, not necessarily. Right now we're [teammates] not in season and I don't necessarily go to the peOple I used during the first semester for help. I tend to stick more, I see myself going more to my roommate or just peOple who are around me more often. So, it may be that freshman athletes feel more comfortable with older teammates but they may need opportunities to engage in other non-sport activities so that they can experience new challenges. Looking at the responses here indicate that the freshmen, in this study, handled their difficulties experienced with the academic transition by attending study halls and forming study/support groups with other freshmen who were taking similar classes. The responses provided by the freshmen indicate that older players provided assistance in overcoming some of their feelings of doubt regarding their ability and their status on the team. Most often this support was simply words of encouragement and sport-specific advice. There was evidence that older athletes facilitated the freshmen's social and personal growth by providing the freshmen with social networks and social opportunities where they could express themselves openly. The freshmen often overcame identity difficulties by identifying themselves as members of their respective sport teams. Only one of the freshman subjects who was assigned a mentor in the previous phase of this study felt that their mentor provided significant help in any of the difficulty 82 areas mentioned previously. However, they did feel that other older athletes helped them with various areas of college adjustment. It should also be pointed out here that one of the freshmen in this study did not feel as if the difficulties with academics had gotten better over the course of the school year. Another reason for the lack of significant findings regarding the mentor program may be due to the environment common to athletic teams. Cooker and Caffey (1984) found that their counseling program for football players did not result in quantitatively significant findings, however, qualitative reports showed positive benefits. It was suggested that the lack of significant quantitative findings may have been due to a football 'subculture'. This suggests that the lack of significant findings in the current study may be due to a lack of concern regarding social and personal adjustment levels of freshman athletes. A lack of encouragement from coaches and other athletes may be responsible for the lack of significant findings. The results of this study may also have been influenced by the attitudes of the freshman athletes as they arrived on campus. Many high school athletes maintain high levels of self-confidence and this self- confidence is boosted when they are recruited by big time colleges. Therefore, the feelings of the freshman student-athletes may be distorted as they arrive on campus. It is possible that some athletes overestimated their adjustment levels as they responded to the questionnaires in this study. Baker, Siryk, and McNeil (1985) found that students expect more from college, as well as themselves, than is actually realized during their first year in college. This is interesting to note because the means for all of the SACQ subscale difference scores for the well-adjusted group were negative (see Table 9) indicating that either their adjustment levels had decreased over the semester or they actually overestimated their adjustment levels at the beginning of their first semester. There are concerns inherent in the design of the study and the mentor program that may have adversely affected the results. 83 i I l i l . l E l . The effectiveness of the mentor program relied heavily on the mentors. The tutorial that was provided to the mentors was a crucial part of implementing the program. The tutorial was provided to all older athletes before the mentors were selected. Because most of the tutorials were presented at team practices or team meetings, the concentration levels of those potential mentors may not have been sufficient to appreciate the importance of their role in such a program. It would be more beneficial if a special meeting, called by the coaches, was organized so that the older athletes could better understand the importance of a mentor program. The administration of the questionnaires to all athletes in the study took place during the third and fourth week of the Fall semester. It is possible that vital adjustment issues were uncovered because the athletes already had time to get accustomed to their new surroundings. The freshmen could have already established informal relationships with other teammates or non-teammates and this may have influenced their receptiveness to being assigned a mentor later in the semester. Another issue involving the administration of questionnaires is that, again, all questionnaire data were collected at either team practices or team meetings. The credibility of the athletes' responses was questionable because, oftentimes, the athletes were anxious to leave practice or were still concerned with issues regarding practice. For example, one athlete lost a competition in practice that would determine his/her position on the team for the next meet. A neutral site for test administration may result in different responses due to an increase in concentration levels. The effectiveness of the mentor program also was affected by the quality of the mentoring relationships. According to the results of the Athlete-mentor Interaction form, most activities involved a group of older athletes, whereas, the study was intended to promote one-on-one interactions between mentors and mentees. It is possible that group interactions would benefit the adjustment levels of freshmen more than one-on-one 84 interactions, but that comparison is difficult to make using the results of the current investigation. A final methodological concern is that the adjustment levels of athletes from eleven different intercollegiate teams were assessed in this study. Comparisons across sports may be unfair due to the fact that their seasons begin at different times and there are different team environments that affect freshmen in various ways. The problem here is that self- report adjustment levels may differ due to the various team dynamics. W It was assumed that using older athletes would provide freshmen with an appropriate guide to help them with the social and personal transitions from high school to college. It was also assumed that these individuals would be better adjusted to college than the freshmen in this study because of their age and their ability to progress through college. As the results showed, the mentors in this study were not significantly better adjusted to college than were the freshmen according to the results of the SACQ pretest subscale scores. This suggests that the mentors in this study could have benefited from some form of intervention that would have helped them with the personal and social adjustment to college. This would not guarantee that they would become effective mentors but it may increase their adjustment levels and the possibility of helping others. Another explanation may be that freshman student-athletes are fairly well prepared to handle the transition when they arrive on campus. The role of a mentor is a large responsibility and it takes time and effort by both the mentor and the mentee. Many of the older athletes are in the process of completing their coursework and attempting to find a job. The difference in priorities between seniors and freshmen is often large. A relationship based on the responses of a background questionnaire may not be sufficient enough to provide a freshman with someone who is genuinely concerned about their future. Support from others, including coaches and 85 administrators, would provide the freshman athlete with more resources to help face new challenges. Another concern is the idea of measuring only the social and personal aspects of the college transition without accommodating all aspects (i.e., academic and athletic, as well). The dynamics created by the interactions of the various aspects of the college transition are difficult to assess independently as shown by the responses given in the phone interviews. The use of all subscales on the SACQ would produce quantitative results that would provide more insight into the complete picture of a freshman's college adjustment. A final concern is regarding the idea of assessing the college adjustment levels of different races, simultaneously. Even though it was beyond the sc0pe of this investigation and there were no consistent significant differences found between races, future research would benefit from comparing the adjustment levels of minority athletes to that of the majority at predominantly White campuses. Implications The results of this study provided a better understanding of the adjustment that student-athletes make as they enter college. The mentor program used in this current investigation seems to have had an influence on the adjustment of some freshman student- athletes. The results of the qualitative analysis have provided insight into existing programs (e. g., study hall) for freshman student-athletes, as well as additional needs. If coaches and administrators endorsed the use of a program similar to this one and it was modified to meet the unique needs of various teams, freshman student-athletes would be provided with an opportunity to experience a more positive adjustment to college so that they could concentrate more on excelling in academics and athletics. Recommendations There are four recommendations that would help improve this study. The first recommendation would be to use all of the SACQ subscales in order to get a better understanding of the entire college transition of athletes. It would then be possible to 86 compare the three subscales used in this study with the academic subscale in order to determine whether a peer-mentoring program would facilitate college adjustment. This would also allow comparison analysis of all subscales so that any significant relationships could be examined through qualitative research. The second recommendation would be to develop a program where the mentoring relationships can be better monitored. The use of group activities can be used to promote interaction between mentors and mentees, as well as between the freshmen themselves. This would take some of the pressure off of the mentors to organize one-on-one activities with their mentee alone. An endorsement by the athletic program would provide funds and facilities to organize such a program. The athletic department could use their support staff and others, such as counseling and sport psychology graduate students to create an environment that values communication and assistance. This type of a setting would be most effective if it provided student-athletes with tutorials regarding such issues as study skills, effective time management, interpersonal relationship development, cultural diversity on the campus, and effective communication. The third recommendation would be develop a program that focuses on fewer teams or teams that have similar structures (e.g., team vs. individual sports). This would allow for a more individualistic approach to supporting the adjustment needs of athletes. The athletic departments of some universities have developed formal mentoring programs for their athletes but it seems that a lack of administration of such programs has led to their ineffectiveness. Again, support staff could be assigned to separate teams in order to get to know the athletes better and provide a more effective program to deal with difficulties concerning their adjustment to college. A final recommendation would be to develop more efficient interview questions that would better assess the quality, effectiveness, and progression of a mentoring relationship over the course of a mentor program. During the course of this study, the current investigator had little training with qualitative research methodology. The questions used in 87 this study may have induced biases in the subjects’ responses due to the order in which the questions were presented. A better approach would be to begin with more global questions and continue by narrowing the focus of the questions. Future research may benefit from the use of open—ended questionnaires that provide a deeper insight into the social interactions between freshmen and mentors, as well as, older athletes in general. These recommendations would definitely enhance the research of the effectiveness of a peer-mentor program for freshman student-athletes. Although the final results of this study did not show the intervention program to be significantly effective, trends provided by the quantitative, as well as the qualitative, data warrant further investigation. APPENDICES APPENDIX A BACKGROUND QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MENTORS 88 ID Background Questionnaire for Mentors 1.) Age years months 2.) Gender (circle one) M F 3.) Race (check one) African-American European-American Mexican-American Native-American Asian-American Other (please specify) 4.) Major 5.) Sport participating in at MSU 0 How many years have you participated in this sport at MSU (not including the 94-95 year)? High—mm 6.) Number of students in your school during your final year of high school (approximate) 7.) Number of students in your graduating class (approximate number) Kamila: 8.) Number of family members presently living at your permanent residence 9.) Closeness to family Very Close 1 2 3 4 5 Not at All Close 10.) Father’s occupation 11.) Mother’s occupation Social—Interests 12.) Please list any social activities that you enjoy. 1. 3. APPENDIX B BACKGROUND QUESTIONNAIRE FOR FRESHMEN 89 ID Background Questionnaire for Freshman Student-Athletes 1.9311111 1.) Age years _ months 2.) Gender(circle one) M F 3.) Race (check one) 4.) 5.) 6.) African-American European-American Mexican-American Native-American Asian-American Other (please specify) Sport participating in at MSU Major undecided How sure are you that this will be your major when you graduate? Very Sure I 2 3 4 5 Not at All Sure The overall average grade you expect to receive at MSU your first semester (circle one) 1.0 l.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 High—School 7.) 8.) 9-) 10.) ll.) 12.) Number of students in your school during your final year of high school (approximate) Number of students in your graduating class (approximate) How familiar were you with the campus before you decided to attend MSU?(circle one) 0-1 visits 2-4 visits 5-7 visits 8 or more visits Do you have friends who attend MSU? Did you know your roommate before attended MSU? How far are you from your home (approximate miles/hours)? 90 Email: 13.) Do you have any family in the Lansing area (within 2 hours of Lansing)? (circle one) yes no 14.) How many times do you plan to visit home during this semester? 15.) Number of family members presently living at your permanent residence 16.) Number of siblings presently in college at MSU - How many will be participating in intercollegiate sports in the ‘94 school year? at MSU 17.) Number of siblings who have attended college in the past at MSU 0 How many participated in intercollegiate sports? . _ at MSU___ l8.) Closeness to siblings Very Close 1 2 3 4 5 Not at All Close 19.) Father’s occupation 20.) Mother’s occupation SmiaLJnteLests 21.) Please list any social activities that you enjoy. 1. 2. 3. 4 APPENDIX C ATHLETE-MENTOR INTERACTION FORM .91 .aaocw a 3 0:00 33 53:00 05 : cozw 0:5 05 9 0x0: :0: a 000E gal—co 2250 0020 05 was 5:58.: 05 5:5 0:00 .83 53:00 05 a. 55% 08: 05 9 :8: L: 5 002m .8250 .520 ca 5:» E cowawcu so» :2: 53:00 :08 .8 ER; 08: Co 2525 05 £5, 05% 0.0083 05 5 Eu 030E: 3.23 72.0200 9.33020 3:3. E02 53:86 .F musmfi £E00~0~ wEwmsomE 1‘ 321030 0323 .050 .0103 a 0:0; 0.: co 0:8 ‘Hl 33:20“ 25.3.00 Co c0550 ;l.ll§ .mcotmficmmco 3.00:00 933 l 8:03 05023 3:05 mwctufimw .303 0050 museum 8 wEom >33: 9 wEow huncaw :Esamm SEE 320 o. wEom misfits; amvmcszh 5:03:00}, xwvmozk r3502 e Econ 55525 Base—2-2023 APPENDIX D OFFER SELF-IMAGE QUESTIONNAIRE OSIQ 92 OSIQ This questionnaire is used for scientific purposes. There are no right or wrong answers. After carefully reading each of the statements on the following pages, please circle the number that indicates how well the item describes you: The numbers correspond with categories that range from (1) "Describe me very well' to (6) "Does not describe me at all". Please Circle only one choice for each statement. Please respond to all items. Thank you. Use the following values: 1: Describes me very well 2: Describes me well 3: Describes me fairly well 4: Does not quite describe me 5: Does not really describe me 6: Does not describe me at all 1. I feel tense most of the time. 1 2 3 4 5 6 2. I usually feel out of place at picnics and parties. 1 2 3 4 5 6 3. I think that I will be a source of pride to my parents in the future. 1 2 3 4 5 6 4. Most of the time I think that the world is an exciting place to live in. l 2 3 4 5 6 5. If I would be separated from all people I know, I feel that I would notbeabletomakeagoofit. 123456 6. Ifeel inferior to most pe0ple I know. 1 2 3 4 5 7 I think that other people just do not like me. 1 2 4 6 8. My parents are almost always on the side of someone else. . For example, my brother of sister. 1 2 3 4 5 9. If I put my mind to it I can learn almost anything. 1 2 3 4 5 10. I do not like to put things in order and make sense of them. 1 2 3 4 5 11. Most ofthe time I am happy. 1 2 3 4 5 12. Ifmd it extremely hard to make friends. 1- 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 000000 13. My parents will be disappointed in me in the future. 14. My work, in general, is at least as good as the work of the guy nexttome. 123456 15. When atragedy occurs to one of my friends I feel sad too. 1 2 3 4 5 6 16. My feelingsareeasily hurt. I 2 3 4 5 6 17. I do not mind being corrected, sinceIcan learn from it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 18. When I want something I just sit around wishing I could have it. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 93 I am a superior student in school. I feel relaxed under normal circumstances. I prefer being alone than with other kids my age. Understanding my parents is beyond me. When I decide to do something, I do it. Our society is a competitive one and I am not afraid of it. I am so very anxious. If others disapprove of me I get terribly upset. I can count on my parents most of the time. I find life an endless series of problems without solution in sight. I find it very difficult to establish new friendships. I feel so very lonely. Being together with other people gives me a good feeling. Most of the time my parents get along well with each other. I feel that I am able to make decisions. Working closely with another fellow never gives me pleasure. I enjoy life. I do not have a particularly difficult time in making friends. When my parents are strict I feel that they are right even ifI get angry. I feel that I have no talent whatsoever. IfI know that I will have to face a new situation I will try in advance to find out as much as possible about it. Even when I am sad I can enjoy a good joke. I enjoy most parties I go to. When I grow up and have a family it will be in at least a few ways similar to my own. I am fearful of growing up. Whenever I fail in something I try to find out what I can do in order to avoid another failure. I frequently feel sad. I feel that I have a part in making family decisions. I repeat things continuously to be sure that I am right. I am certain that I will not be able to assume responsibilities for myself in the future. My parents are usually patient with me. I do not rehearse how I might deal with a real coming event. HHHh‘H—‘h—‘F—‘HHHi—‘O‘HHHHH NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN wuwwwwwmuwmwwwwmww bk-fihhkbbthh-fihhhbb MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 000000000000000000 A 0 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 94 Very often parents don't understand a person because they had an unhappy childhood. I do not enjoy solving difficult problems. Usually I feel that I am a bother at home. Worrying a little about one's future helps to make it work out better. I like one parent much better than the other. Dealing with new intellectual subjects is a challenge for me. My parents are ashamed of me. I try to stay away from home most of the time. I have been carrying a grudge against my parents for years. Most of the time my parents are satisfied with me. p—s—aH—iH—op—u NM NNNNNNN 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 0 0 0 0 0000000 0000000 APPENDIX E STUDENT ADAPTATION TO COLLEGE QUESTIONNAIRE SACQ 95 SACQ The items on the front and back of this form are statements that describe college experiences. Read each one and decide how well it applies to you at the present time (within the past few days)). For each item, circle the asterisk at the point in the continuum that best represents how closely the statement applies to you. Circle only one asterisk for each item. To change an answer, draw an X through the incorrect response and circle the desired response. Be sure to use a hard-tipped pen or pencil and press very firmly. In the example below, Item A applied very closely, and item B was changed from "doesn't apply at all" to "applies somewhat." Example A. B \OWQ00-fi 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Applies Very Doesn't apply Closely to Me to Me at All ********* ********* I feel that I fit in well as part of the college environment. I have been feeling tense of nervous lately. I am meeting as many people and making friends as I would like at college. I am very involved with social activities in college. Lately I have been feeling blue and moody a lot. I am pleased now about my decision to go to college. I am adjusting well to college. I have felt tired much of the time lately. I am pleased now about my decision to attend this college in particular. I have had informal, personal contacts with college professors. Being on my own, taking responsibility for myself, has not been easy. I enjoy living in a college dormitory. (Omit if you do not live in a dormitory, any universrty housrng should be regarded as a dorrmtory.) I have several close social ties at college. I haven't been able to control my emotions very well lately. I wish I were at another college or universrty. Lonesomeness for home is a source of difficulty for me now. My appetite has been good lately. I am satisfied with the number and variety of courses available at college. Applies Very C10sely to Me a: a: 2|: 3|: ** Doesn't Apply to Me at All **** **** 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 96 I am satisfied with the extracurricular activities available at college. I have been having a lot of headaches lately. I am having difficulty feeling at ease with other people at college. I am getting along very well with my roommate(s) at college. (Please omit if you do not have a roommate.) I've given a lot of thought lately to whether I should ask for help from the Psychological/Counseling Services Center or from a psychotherapist outside of college. I expect to stay at college for a bachelor's degree. I feel that I have enough social skills to get along well in the college setting. I've put on (or lost) too much weight recently. I feel I am very different from other students at college in ways that I don't like. I am satisfied with the extent to which I am participating in social activities at college. I have been getting angry too easily lately. On balance, I would rather be home than here. I haven't been mixing too well with the opposite sex lately. I haven't been sleeping very well. Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to transferring to another college. I have been feeling lonely a lot at college lately. Sometimes my thinking gets muddled up too easily. Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to dropping out of college altogether and for good. I have some good friends or acquaintances at college with whom I can talk about any problems I may have. I worry a lot about my college expenses. I find myself giving considerable thought to taking time off from college and finishing later. I am quite satisfied with my social life at college. I have been feeling in good health lately. I am experiencing a lot of difficulty coping with the stresses imposed upon me 1n college. Applies Very Closely to Me **** * * * * Doesn't Apply to Me at All * * * 3|: * 3|: APPENDIX F HUMAN SUBJECTS CONSENT FORM 97 HUMAN SUBJECTS CONSENT FORM I would like to ask for your assistance in a study that I am conducting to investigate the effects of support systems on the adjustment of college athletes. The study will be conducted during the first 10 weeks that you are on campus. You will be asked to answer questionnaires at the beginning of the study and at the end of the 10 weeks. Your answers to the questions will be kept confidential. The subjects in this study will not be identified by name or by the sport they participate in. Only group data will be reported. To assure anonymity, you will use the last three digits of your Social Security number and your middle initial as your identification number when answering the questionnaires so that only you and the experimenter know the meaning of your ID number. Your head coach will not be present during the time of the administration of the questionnaires and the coaches will not receive any information about your responses. Your signature below indicates that you agree to participate in this study and that you have read and understood your rights as a participant. Your decision to participate will not impact in any way your position on the team. If you decide to withdraw from this study, you are free to discontinue your participation, at any time, without penalty from your coach or the experimenter A copy of the results from this study will be available upon request. Thank you for your c00peration. Participant's signature Date Experimenter signature Date __ APPENDIX G SOCIAL RESOURCE LIST I A'm. 7 Wk 98 Social Resources List I""‘These are merely suggestions for you and your mentee. You are not required to get ideas from this list. your own. 3.1mm Denny's Cycling/Fitness Velocipede Peddler 539 E. Grand River Wm College Store, The 4790 S. Hagadom Road Gibson's Bookstore 128 W. Grand River MSU Bookstore International Center 355-3450 Ned's Bookstore 135 E. Grand River 332-4200 Student Bookstore 421 E. Grand River 351-4210 Bailing—Allen Holiday Lanes 3101 E. Grand River 337—9775 Pro Bowl East 2757 E. Grand River Quilting Spartan Corner 103 E. Grand River 351-6768 Spirit Etc. 305 E. Grand River 332-1331 Steve & Barry's 209 E. Grand River 333-7366 X-Cel Sportswear 205 MAC Ave. W TargetOkemos 4890 Marsh Rd. 347-0700 Entertainment Sparty's Nite Club 410 S. Clippert St. Pinball Pete‘s 209 Albert 337-2544 W State Discount 501 E. Grand River Beads-4-U 1017 E. Grand River351-8168 Gina's Hallmark 301 E. Grand River Queen _ Goodrich's Shop-Rite Trowbrrdge Plaza 351-5111 1111111111113 219 E. Grand River 416 Frandor Shopping Center 545 E. Grand River Frandor Shopping Center 1101 E. Grand River 309 MAC Ave. 108 Bailey Fantastic Sam‘s Guys and Dolls Hairstyling Haircuts Plus Hair Express Patrician's Hair Fashions Shear Design 143 N. Harrison & 1215 E. Grand River You may choose ideas from this list or you may choose ideas of 351-4228 351-2246 351-8044 332-9388 351-7070 99 ice—CreamLXquLt Baskin Robbins Frandor 3216 Mall Court Campus 1137 E. Grand River332-8513 Marino's Cookie Co. 301 MAC Ave. MSU Dairy Store Farm Lane b/w Shaw Lane and Wilson Rd. 353-1663 Nature's Scoop 2850 E. Grand River337-2115 Tasty Twist 1307 E. Grand River332-2677 WM Odeon Theatre, The 300 N. Clippert 351-1300 Video to Go 300 N. Clippert #18 Music Wherehouse Records 515 E. Grand River 332-3525 Ranks 0 Lake Lansing Park-South Marsh Rd., Haslett 0 Lake Lansing Park-North Lake Drive, Haslett - m n BW3 220 MAC Ave. 333-2999 Bennigan's 2085 W. Grand River 349-2321 Evergreen Grill 327 Abbott 337-8515 Hearthstone Cafe & Restaurant 208 MAC Ave. Olga's Kitchen 131 E. Grand River 351-8872 Ponderosa 2771 E. Grand River 8133mm Apple Jade Restaurant 505 Frandor Ave. 332-8010 Charlie Kang's 127 E. Grand River Restaurant-Qgfleg Houses Cafe Venezia 245 Ann Street Espresso Emporium 3408 Mall Drive 100 W Burger Kingll4l E. Grand River Famous Taco 1105 E. Grand River McDonald's Frandor 3220 E. Saginaw E. Campus 1024 E. Grand River W. Campus 234 W. Grand River Subway Campus 124 W. Grand River 351-5564 Campus 1100 E. Grand River351-8777 Frandor 2840 E. Saginaw 484-8555 Win Panchero's 125 E. Grand River Willa Bell's Greek Pizza 1135 E. Grand River Bilbo's Pizza in a Pan 213 Ann St. Dino's Pizza 515 W. Grand River Domino's Pizza 966 Trowbridge Rd. 351-7100 Drolett's Pizza & Deli 1127 E. Grand River351-1660 Gumby's Pizza Frandor 351-8400 Hungry Howie's 134 N. Harrison Rd. 336-9111 Papa Johns Pizza 1105 E. Grand River Papa Romano's 551 E. Grand River R l l-S I [S l . I [D l' Bagel Fragel Deli 521 E. Grand River Blimpie Subs & Salads 1201 E. Grand River 351-9800 Quizno's 235 Ann St. Checkerboard Deli 421 Frandor Ave. Mancino's 2843 E. Grand River 337-8612 B I nI-I! . Thai Kitchen 2843 E. Grand River332-8866 Rimming: Healthy Foods of India 547 1/2 E. Grand River Wm; Footgear 108 Division St. 351-0962 MSU Bootery 217 E. Grand River 337-0244 W Caribou Direct 623 E. Grand River 332-1565 Modern Skate & Surf 1393 E. Grand River Campus Comics Campus Town Mall 351-4513 Rookies 541 E. Grand River 351-9922 101 W Abrams Planetarium 355-4676 located b/w Shaw Hall and the Chemistry Building Breslin Student Events Center 336-1440 located on the corner of Harrison and Kalamazoo Forest Akers Golf Course 355-1635 located on the East and West sides of Harrison, south of Mount Hope Rd. Gardens - Beal Botanical Garden located b/w library and IM Circle ' Conservatory located in greenhouses at west side of the North Campus Commons (behind the Old Horticulture, Student Services, and Natural Science buildings) 0 The Horticultural Demonstration Gardens located behind the Plant and Soil Science Building Kresge Art Museum 355-7631 located on Physics Rd. in the Kresge Art Center Library 353-8700 MSU Intercollegiate Athletics 355- 1 610 MSU Museum 355-2370 located across from the library on East Circle Drive MSU Performing Arts Company 355-0148 149 Fairchild Auditorium SchedulLQLExents ' Oedipus Rex September 30, October 1-2, 7-8 Festival Stage Wharton Center ° Boesman and Lena October 25-30, November 3-5 Arena Theatre 0 Dancing at Lughnasa November 11-13, 18-19 ’ Festival Stage Wharton Center MSU Student Union 355-3460 - 0 Food Court Little Caesar's, Burger King, Panda Express, Melting Moments 0 Daily Grind . Gourmet coffees, teas, and cappuccrnos 0 Retail Stores Spartan Spirit and Union Central 0 Recreation . . Spartan Lanes Bowling and the "U" Cue Billiards and Video Games 0 Barber Barber & Style Shop 102 MSU Tennis Center 355-2209 located on Mount Hope Rd. just west of Harrison Music Department Events 355-3345 Residence Halls Association (RHA) Movie Program 355-0313 Offers an array of upto date films on a weekly basis. Free admission for residents who have paid their RHA tax. Others pay $3. Locations, movie names, and times will be posted and advertised in the State News. Theatre Department Performances 355-0148 Wharton Center for Performing Arts 336-2000 located on the comer of Shaw Lane and Bogue St. W W00 check for available times or for more information call 355-4500) Public labs are located in: Computer Center Bessey Hall Biochemistry Brody Complex Case Hall Chemistry Eppley Center Holmes Hall Kedzie Hall MSU library MSU Union Music Practice Building Olds Hall Wells Hall Wilson Hall Wu 1.) The University Operator 355-1855 provides directory assistance 2.)Department of Police and Public Safety 355-2221 available around the clock 3.)Spartan Connection 355-9991 Available 24 hours and contains over 150 three-minute messages about a variety of topics of concern to students. 4.)Health Information Line 353-5558 Speak to a nurse about general or specific questions. Wit—mm: 1.) Campus Bus Service: Passes and tickets for regular campus transit bus service may be purchased at the MSU Bookstore, the Union. Store, University Apartments Office, and at all Residence Hall Reception Desks. Prices and schedules are also available at these places. Bus passes entitle holders to unlimited use of all routes of the Campus Bus System. Individual bus tickets are also available and may be used on any. route at any time. A bus transfer system allows passengers to change buses wrthout an additional fare when more than one route is necessary to reach a destination v“_ 4 103 2.) CATA (394-1000): Serves MSU, East Lansing, Lansing, Haslett, and Okemos, including the Lansing Mall, Meridian Mall and Frandor. Hours are: 6 am to 11 pm Monday through Friday. Weekend hours on selected routes are: 8 am to 11 pm on Saturday; and 9 am to 7 pm on Sunday. Schedule Maps are available at: MSU Library, 101 Student Services, MSU Union, the International Center, Kellogg Center, the Amtrak Station, Student Book Store, Meridian Mall and on all CATA buses. Fare: Cash, $.85 weekdays, $.75 weekends; CATACOINs (bus tokens), $.80; CATACARD (monthly bus pass), $25 for students. CATACARDs may be purchased at the MSU Union, Student Book Store, Meridian Mall. CATACOIN vending machines are located at Frandor (outside Rite Aid Pharmacy), Student Book Store, and the Meridian Mall (outside East 4 theaters). 3.) MSU/CATA Link: CATA (city buses) white transfers are accepted by all MSU buses at any MSU bus stop. MSU red transfers are accepted at any CATA bus stop along routes #1 (East Lansing/Meridian Mall) from Frandor Mall east to the Meridian Mall; #17 (Towar Gardens), #19 (North Harrison), #20 (South Harrison), and #21 (Burcham Hagadorn). Transfers are marked with the current date and time and must be used within the time limit. 4.) Nite-Ride: The Nite-Ride bus is a campus transport service operating on a fixed-route after regular bus service ends. Hours are 10:00 pm to 2:30 am, excluding semester breaks, summer, holidays and holiday weekends. Riders must present a valid MSU pictured identification. For additional information regarding Nite-Ride, call Automotive Services at 353-5280, weekdays, 7 am to 5 pm. 5.) Dial-A-Ride: The Dial-A-Ride bus is a campus transport service between on-campus locations during nighttime hours for individuals who would otherwise have to walk alone. Service is available on request: Monday-Friday 8:00-pm-2z30 am Saturday-Sunday 6:30 pm-2:30 am EXCEPT, there is no service during semester breaks, summer, holidays, and holiday weekends. To reach Dial-A-Ride, dial 145 from any Campus Touch Tone Telephone; wait for the operator to ask for the pager number; enter 1212; wait for the operator to instruct you to begin speaking, leave your name and location. Riders must present valid MSU pictured identification. For additional information regarding Dial-A-Ride, call Automotive Services at 353-5280, weekdays, 7 am to 5 pm. APPENDIX H QUESTIONS FOR FRESHMEN PHONE INTERVIEWS 104 Questions for Freshmen Student-Athletes (who were assigned mentors) Preliminary questions: 0 did you have a mentor? 0 ID number? 1. What were some of the difficulties you had with the transition from high school to college? 2. What effect did your mentor have, with respect to these issues? 0 what, specifically, did he/she do (for each difficult area)? 0 when did things seem to get better? 3. What do you believe to be qualities of an effective mentor? Questions for Freshmen Student-Athletes (without mentors) Preliminary questions: ° did you have a mentor? 0 ID number? 1. What were some of the difficulties you had with the transition from high school to college? 2. How did you handle these difficulties? - who helped with these difficulty areas? 0 what did they do (for each difficulty area)? - when did things seem to get better? 3. What do you believe to be qualities of an effective mentor? 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000000001413211213102191191l9]l99499999999999799990000000000000000000000000 072610125622232370000150000090002600000000000000020000000000000000022420 000000003635614614302492155543119793688697497785650000000000000000000000000 042110124722222120000200000120003000000000000000030000000000000000012105 000000002853711417301692683372198886784899999l96280000000000000000000000000 06781012582223]l700004500002500060000000000000000300000000000000000207l8 000000002232222323203281272482198787778898898598880000000000000000000000000 LIST OF REFERENCES LIST OF REFERENCES Baker, R. 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