Hope and adjustment to college in the context of collective trauma.

OBJECTIVES: To understand predictors of first-year college adjustment in the context of collective trauma, including a school shooting.

PARTICIPANTS: Two consecutive years of entering freshman (Year 1 (Y1) N = 169, Year 2 (Y2) N = 94) were surveyed over time: Y1 in October 2012 and March 2013, and Y2 in October 2013 and August 2014. During Y2, several collective traumas occurred, impacting the campus community and providing a stark comparison.

METHODS: Online surveys measuring predictors at the start of each year and adjustment at the end of each year.

RESULTS: Hope was the only significant predictor of adjustment when included in a regression model with depression symptoms in Y1, and with depression symptoms, baseline posttraumatic stress symptoms, and traumatic exposure in Y2.

CONCLUSIONS: Fostering hope may promote college adjustment, regardless of collective traumas that might occur on campus.