Social Self-Efficacy Predicts Chinese College Students’ First-Year Transition

Abstract

This study investigated the facilitative role of adult social self-efficacy in Chinese college students’ first-year transition. We proposed and tested a process model in which perceived social support was hypothesized as a mediator between social self-efficacy and college freshmen adjustment. Participants were 474 college freshmen enrolled at a large university located in an east coast city in the People’s Republic of China. These college freshmen completed four waves of self-report surveys over a 10-month period, at 1, 4, 7, and 10 months post-entry, respectively. Participants’ first-year cumulative grade point average (GPA) was obtained from the University Registrar. Results based on structural equation modeling provided support for the hypothesized process model. Specifically, social self-efficacy (Month 1) positively related to perceived social support (Month 4), which in turn positively related to academic and social adjustment, but negatively related to depression (Month 7). Perceived social support was found to mediate the above relationships. Academic adjustment positively related to, whereas depression negatively related to, first-year GPA (Month 10). The relationship between social adjustment and first-year GPA was complex, with a negative direct link and a positive indirect link through academic adjustment. In addition, academic and social adjustment positively related to subjective well-being (SWB; Month 10), whereas depression negatively related to SWB. Implications for research and practice were discussed.

Keywords

adult social self-efficacy college freshmen adjustment perceived social support depression subjective well-being

Bandura’s (1986, 1997) self-efficacy theory has been widely applied in vocational psychology research and practice. Self-efficacy is defined as “people’s judgments of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performance” (Bandura, 1986, p. 391). Self-efficacy has been identified as a key construct in multiple areas including career choice and development (e.g., Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) and career intervention (e.g., Luzzo, Hasper, Albert, Bibby, & Martinelli, 1999).

More recently, scholars have begun to study adults’ self-efficacy perception within the social interaction domain (e.g., Smith & Betz, 2000). This is in keeping with the central role of social interaction in determining an adult’s overall life quality (Hermann, 2005) and the ever-increasing social interaction demands in many jobs (Ilgen & Pulakos, 1999). Social self-efficacy refers to an individual’s perceived ability in initiating and maintaining interpersonal relationships (Gecas, 1989; Smith & Betz, 2000). Social self-efficacy has been established as a strong predictor of various life outcome variables among adults such as life satisfaction (e.g., Wright & Perrone, 2010), purpose in life (e.g., DeWitz, Woolsey, & Walsh, 2009), depression (e.g., Wei, Russell, & Zakalik, 2005), and cross-cultural adjustment (e.g., Lin & Betz, 2009). Social self-efficacy has also been found to mediate the effects of individual differences such as attachment styles (e.g., Mallinckrodt & Wei, 2005), instrumentality (e.g., Hermann & Betz, 2006), and goal orientation traits (e.g., Gong & Fan, 2006) on these life outcomes.

Despite the above initial promising findings, we argue that research on adult social self-efficacy suffers from two major limitations. The first limitation is that only a handful of studies (e.g., Fan, Meng, Zhao, & Patel, 2012; Smith & Betz, 2002; Wei et al., 2005) have investigated mechanisms of social self-efficacy, that is, how social self-efficacy affects various life outcomes; further, methodologically, these few studies have used cross-sectional designs or/and all self-report measures, making it difficult, if not impossible, to establish causality. The second limitation is that little research has been done to investigate whether and the extent to which the construct of adult social self-efficacy developed in Western, individualistic societies (e.g., North America and Europe) can be generalized to Oriental, collectivistic societies such as China. Several authors (e.g., Erez, 2008; Lindley, 2006) have advocated a cross-cultural specificity view that self-efficacy is an individualistic concept and thus should be more dominant in Western societies, whereas collective efficacy should be more dominant in Oriental societies.

However, two recent studies (Fan, Meng, Gao, Lopez, & Liu, 2010; Fan et al., 2012) have challenged the above cross-cultural specificity view. Through qualitative methods, Fan et al. (2010) found that the Western construct of adult social self-efficacy constitutes an important component of Chinese adult social self-efficacy. These authors reasoned that due to the rapid socioeconomic changes and industrialization process during the past three decades, some of the Western individualistic values have penetrated slowly through Chinese societies (e.g., Zhou, Leung, & Li, 2012). In other words, with modernization, the contemporary Chinese societies have become more individualistic, making the Western concept of adult social self-efficacy highly relevant (Fan et al., 2010). Supporting this view, Fan et al. (2010) and Fan et al. (2012) reported that social self-efficacy as measured by Smith and Betz’s (2000) 25-item Perceived Social Self-Efficacy (PSSE) inventory was positively correlated to personal self-esteem, several collective self-esteem dimensions, subjective well-being (SWB), and peer-rated social competence but was negatively correlated to social anxiety in two Chinese undergraduate student samples.

The purpose of this study was to further explicate the facilitative role of the Western concept of adult social self-efficacy in Chinese societies. We identified a prototypical context that demands social competencies, thus making social self-efficacy very salient—Chinese college students’ first-year transition. We aimed to reveal how the effects of social self-efficacy unfold over time during this transition period. The conceptual model is presented in Figure 1. As can be seen, we included two positive indicators of college adjustment (academic and social adjustment) and one negative indicator (depression). We hypothesized perceived social support as a key mediator between social self-efficacy and college freshmen adjustment. We further specified academic performance and SWB as two distal outcomes. To address the methodological weaknesses of prior studies, we tested our conceptual model through a four-wave longitudinal study with multisource data. In what follows, we first argue for the relevance of social self-efficacy to Chinese college students’ first-year transition and then develop research hypotheses for relationships among various constructs in the conceptual model.

Figure 1.

The hypothesized model and results of structural equation modeling. Note. All the path coefficients presented in the figure were standardized coefficients and were significant at the p = .01 level. Of the four control variables, region of origin was not depicted in the figure because the paths between region of origin and all mediating and outcome variables were nonsignificant.

The Relevance of Social Self-Efficacy to First-Year Transition at College in China

Chinese college freshmen face numerous challenges during their first-year transition; for instance, they need to adjust to new instructional methods and teaching styles, form an entirely new social support system, and learn how to effectively manage their time, finance, and other personal issues, to name just a few. Our counseling experience with Chinese college freshmen reveals that among these challenges, interpersonal issues seem to cut through many other issues and have been one of the major reasons Chinese college freshmen seek professional help. Indeed, when college freshmen arrive on campus, they are entering a social context where they hardly know anyone, yet they must deal with many people on a daily basis such as professors, university staff, fellow freshmen, and more senior college students. We argue that college freshmen with a high level of social self-efficacy should flourish in this new social environment, because these freshmen should be more likely than those with a low level of social self-efficacy to reach out to others, make the initial contacts, show social assertiveness, participate in group activities, and be resilient to initial social rejections (Smith & Betz, 2000), thus creating more supportive relationships. Therefore, social self-efficacy should have a strong influence on Chinese college freshmen’s adjustment processes and outcomes.

Supporting the previous argument, there is some initial empirical evidence for the positive relationships between social self-efficacy and indicators of college freshmen’s adjustment in the United States (e.g., Wei et al., 2005) and in China (e.g., Meng, Fan, & Liu, 2007; Meng, Yang, Xu, & Tang, 2012). Thus, we expected that social self-efficacy should contribute positively to Chinese college students’ first-year transition.

Social Self-Efficacy and Perceived Social Support

Social support is defined as the provision of both psychological and material resources with the intention of helping the recipients to cope with stress (Cohen, 2004). Perceived social support refers to people’s perceptions of how much support is available if needed (Taylor, 2011). Although social support has traditionally been considered an environmental variable, there was evidence suggesting that it is also a function of individual differences (Taylor, 2011). For instance, Sarason and colleagues reported positive correlations between perceived social support and peer-rated social skills and interpersonal attractiveness (Sarason, Pierce, & Sarason, 1990; Sarason, Sarason, & Shearin, 1986). Mallinckrodt (2000) accordingly specified a causal link from social competencies (which include social self-efficacy) to perceived social support in his social competencies in interpersonal process model. Social cognitive theory similarly argued that it is the individual (not the environment) who is responsible for creating and maintaining supportive interpersonal relationships (e.g., Bandura, Pastorelli, Barbaranelli, & Caprara, 1999).

As mentioned earlier, individuals with a high level of social self-efficacy are expected to engage in assertive behaviors in a new social environment such as making the initial contacts, participating in group activities, and being resilient to social rejections (Smith & Betz, 2000). As a result, these individuals will develop a larger social network than those with a low level of social self-efficacy. A larger social network, in turn, is more likely to provide these individuals with social support when needed (Zhao, Frese, & Giardini, 2010). Individuals with a high level of social self-efficacy are also expected to engage in prosocial behaviors such as helping others, being kind to others, and being cooperative (Bandura et al., 1999). These prosocial behaviors are likely to result in reciprocal social relations (Homans, 1958). Social exchange theory (cf. Emerson, 1976) predicts that these individuals are more likely to receive returned favors when needed (i.e., social support) than individuals with a low level of social self-efficacy. Supporting the above arguments, Mallinckrodt (1992) and Mallinckrodt and Wei (2005) reported positive relationships between social self-efficacy and perceived social support in U.S. undergraduate student samples. Whereas Mallinckrodt and colleagues’ findings were based on cross-sectional designs, the present study tested this link longitudinally among Chinese college freshmen.

Perceived Social Support and College Freshmen Adjustment

Counseling psychologists have typically used negative mental health outcomes such as loneliness and depression as indicators of college student adjustment. Wei, Russell, and Zakalik (2005) recommended that future researchers consider both positive and negative adjustment indicators. In response to this call, we expanded domains of college freshmen adjustment, drawing on conceptual models that describe how individuals adjust to a new environment, for instance, Black, Mendenhall, and Oddou’s (1991) expatriate adjustment model and Ward and Kennedy’s (1993) psychological and sociocultural adjustment model of sojourners, and several comprehensive reviews (e.g., Baker & Siryk, 1984; Gao, 2011) on various multifacet measures of college adjustment developed in the United States and in China. The above sources collectively suggest that college freshmen are considered well adjusted if they feel comfortable with academic tasks, form good interpersonal relationships, and demonstrate a lack of psychological distress. Accordingly, we specified three major dimensions of Chinese college freshmen adjustment: (a) academic adjustment, defined as the degree of psychological comfort associated with academic activities/requirements at college, (b) social adjustment, defined as the degree of psychological comfort with interpersonal relationships at college, and (c) depression.

The positive relationship between perceived social support and mental health has been well established and there are two explanations for it (Cohen & Wills, 1985). One is the “main effect model,” which suggests that perceived social support has a direct effect on mental health, regardless of whether the environment is stressful or not (Cohen & Wills, 1985). According to this model, perceived social support promotes mental health through providing individuals with positive affects, a sense of predictability and stability, and self-worth (Cohen & Wills, 1985). The other is the “stress-buffering model,” which argues that perceived social support has a positive impact on mental health only when the environment is stressful (Cohen & Wills, 1985). That is, perceived social support may buffer the negative impact of stress on mental health. Given the widely acknowledged stressful nature of college students’ first-year transition, both models would yield the same prediction that perceived social support should positively relate to mental health. Indeed, the negative relationship between perceived social support and depression has been firmly established in adult populations (for a review, see Lakey & Cronin, 2008).

The positive association between perceived social support and social adjustment is pretty straightforward, as the perception that people in one’s social network can be relied on in time of need should contribute directly to the comfort associated with interpersonal relationships in the new environment. As for the relationship between perceived social support and academic adjustment, there might be two possible pathways. Among various kinds of social support college freshmen might receive, some are instrumental, which entails direct assistance of specific academic tasks/requirements; some are informational, which entails advice on where college freshmen could obtain direct help with academic tasks; and still some take the form of emotional support (Cohen, 2004). The first two forms of support should contribute directly to academic adjustment, whereas the third form represents an indirect pathway through social adjustment. For instance, Gong and Fan (2006) found in a sample of international students studying in the United States that social self-efficacy positively related to social adjustment, which in turn positively related to academic adjustment. Thus, we expected that perceived social support should positively relate to academic and social adjustment, but negatively relate to depression, and that social adjustment should positively relate to academic adjustment.

College Freshmen Adjustment and Distal Outcomes

We included two distal outcomes in our conceptual model: academic performance and SWB. Academic performance is indicated by first-year cumulative grade point average (GPA). SWB, a set of well-recognized life outcome variables, includes a cognitive component (life satisfaction) and an affective component (positive and negative affect; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). These two distal outcomes capture two fundamental questions to Chinese college freshmen: (a) “Can you do your work here?” and (b) “Are you happy?” These two bottom-line outcomes parallel with satisfactoriness and satisfaction in the theory of work adjustment in vocational psychology (Dawis & Lofquist, 1984) and job performance and job satisfaction in organizational psychology (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, & Patton, 2001), respectively.

Gong and Fan (2006) found a positive relationship between academic adjustment and academic performance (GPA) in a sample of international students. There was empirical evidence for the negative relationship between depression and GPA among college students (e.g., Fazio & Palm, 1998). Thus, we expected that academic adjustment should positively, whereas depression should negatively, relate to GPA. The association between social adjustment and GPA was less clear. On one hand, social adjustment may positively contribute to GPA indirectly through academic adjustment (e.g., Gong & Fan, 2006). On the other hand, the direct link has received mixed empirical support, with some reported a positive relationship (e.g., Aluja-Fabregat & Blanch, 2004), while others reporting a negative relationship (e.g., Meng et al., 2012). Thus, we tested the indirect link but also specified a direct link from social adjustment to GPA for exploratory purposes. Adjustment to various life domains has been a central component of modern theories of SWB (Diener et al., 1999). There are also empirical evidences suggesting that adjustments in life domains are antecedents of SWB and can decrease the negative emotions (see Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003; Diener et al., 1999). In addition, the negative relationship between depression and SWB has been well documented (Diener et al., 1999). As such, we expected that academic and social adjustment should positively, whereas depression should negatively, relate to SWB. In addition to the direct link, social adjustment might have an indirect path to SWB through academic adjustment.

We note that specifying simultaneous links from the three adjustment variables to the two distal outcome variables provided a rigorous test of the usefulness of the two positive adjustment variables. If academic adjustment and social adjustment are simply indicative of lack of depression, the links from these two positive adjustment variables to the two distal outcome variables should be nonsignificant when depression is included in the model. However, if the above links remain significant after controlling for depression, this would suggest that these two positive adjustment variables represent useful additions to the domains of college adjustment.

Mediation Effects

Based on the earlier discussions, we further examined several mediation effects. First, we tested whether perceived social support mediated the relationships between social self-efficacy and the three adjustment variables. We also specified three direct links to account for the possibility that perceived social support might not be the only mediator. Second, we tested whether social adjustment mediated the perceived social support–academic adjustment link. Third, we tested whether academic adjustment mediated the relationships between social adjustment and academic performance and SWB.

Method

Sample and Procedure

Participants were 743 college freshmen from six departments at a large university in an east coast city of the People’s Republic of China. We obtained the permission to access these students via each of these six departments’ academic advisor. Research assistants attended class meetings and participants completed surveys during their class time. Participation was voluntary, and students were assured the confidentiality of their data. Participants received a color pen worth 4 Chinese Yuan (US$0.67) as a gift. We asked participants to provide their student IDs, so that we could link multiple-wave survey data with academic performance data. Participants completed the first questionnaire in September 2010 (T1), which contained an adult social self-efficacy measure and a demographic survey, the second questionnaire in December 2010 (T2), which contained the perceived social support measure, the third questionnaire in March 2011 (T3), which contained the academic and social adjustment measures and the depression measure, and the fourth questionnaire in June 2011, which contained the SWB measure (T4). Finally, we obtained participants’ first-year cumulative GPA from the Registrar’s Office (T4). Thus, this study spanned a period of approximately 10 months.

Among the 743 students who completed the T1 questionnaire, 657 completed the T2 questionnaire (response rate = 88.4%), 574 completed the T3 questionnaire (response rate = 77.2%), and 474 completed the T4 questionnaire (response rate = 63.8%). In total, 474 participants provided complete data from T1 to T4, and their data were included in subsequent analyses. In the final sample, the average age was 18.7, and 386 (81.4%) were female. The prevalence of women in the current sample reflects the gender composition of the student population in this school (78%). The distribution of participants’ major of study is as follows: 106 (22.4%) were Chinese language and literature majors, 69 (14.6%) were preschool and special education majors, 28 (5.9%) were politics and public administration majors, 82 (17.3%) were life science majors, 91 (19.2%) were psychology majors, and 98 (20.7%) were mathematics majors.

Participant attrition analyses revealed that the attrition group (n = 269) and the nonattrition group (n = 474) did not differ on any of the demographic variables, with one exception. That is, students who came from the local city were slightly more likely to drop out the study than students who come from another city (χ² = 5.13, p < .05).

Measures

Social self-efficacy

The Chinese version (Fan et al., 2010) of Smith and Betz’s (2000) PSSE scale was used. Participants rated their confidence in successfully completing 25 social tasks on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (no confidence at all) to 5 (complete confidence). An example item was “Express your feelings to others.” Fan et al. (2010, 2012) reported high reliabilities (an α coefficient of .93 and a 3-week test–retest correlation coefficient of .78), excellent construct validity, and acceptable criterion validity for Chinese PSSE scores. For instance, Chinese PSSE scores were found to be positively correlated with scores in SWB (Fan et al., 2012). The α coefficient was .92 in the current sample.

Perceived social support

The Chinese version (Wang, Wang, & Ma, 1999) of Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS; Blumenthal et al., 1987) was used. The Chinese PSSS has been widely used by Chinese scholars, exhibiting good psychometric properties in Chinese populations. For instance, surveying 1,034 Chinese college students, Liang (2008) reported that Chinese PSSS scores had high reliabilities and were positively correlated to general self-efficacy scores. Chinese PSSS scores have been consistently found to be negatively correlated to loneliness scores and positively correlated to SWB scores (e.g., Zhang, Wang, & Liu, 2012). We modified the items slightly to suit for the college context. Items tap into perceived support from the new environment including new friends, teachers, and schoolmates. Items were rated on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). One sample item was “In my current college life, I may rely on the new friends I have recently made at this university when going through difficulties.” The α coefficient was .88 in the current sample.

Academic adjustment and social adjustment

Meng, Fan, and Liu’s (2007) academic and social adjustment inventory was used. Meng and colleagues modified Gong and Fan’s (2006) international student adjustment inventory to suit for the Chinese college student context and reported excellent psychometric properties of the revised inventory. For instance, Meng et al. (2007) reported that the academic and social adjustment scales had α coefficients of .83 and .86, respectively, in a sample of Chinese undergraduate sample. Further, academic and social adjustment scores had positive correlations with learning goal orientation scores as predicted by theory (Meng et al., 2007). Meng, Yang, Xu, and Tang (2012) reported that academic adjustment scores were positively, whereas social adjustment scores were negatively, correlated to college students’ GPA in another Chinese undergraduate student sample. Items were rated on a 7-point scale (1 = not well adjusted at all; 7 = very well adjusted). The academic adjustment inventory had 7 items. One sample item was “How well adjusted are you to the instructional methods at this university?” The α coefficient was .89 in the current sample. The social adjustment inventory had 6 items. One sample item was “How well adjusted are you to interacting with other students at this university?” The α coefficient was .79 in the current sample.

Depression

Depression was measured by the Chinese version of Zung’s (1965) 20-item Self-rating Depression Scale (Z-SDS). The Chinese Z-SDS has been widely used by many scholars and has exhibited good psychometric properties. For instance, Lam and Peng (2010) reported that Chinese Z-SDS scores successfully differentiated Chinese college students who were addicted to the Internet from more normal college students. Chinese Z-SDS scores were found to be negatively correlated with interpersonal trust among Chinese undergraduate students (Xu & Pang, 2004). Items were rated on a 4-point scale, ranging from 1 (none of the time) to 4 (most or all the time). One sample item was “I have trouble sleeping at night in the past month.” The α coefficient was .83 in the current sample.

SWB

The Chinese version (Wang, Yuen, & Slaney, 2009) of the classic 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale developed by Diener (1985) measured the cognitive component of SWB. One sample item was “I am satisfied with my life.” Items were rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The α coefficient was .86 in the current sample. The 24 Chinese mood adjectives used by Fan et al. (2012) measured the affective components of SWB. Fan et al. translated Watson, Clark, and Tellegen’s (1988) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule [PANAS] items into Chinese and added 4 additional Chinese mood adjectives from Qiu, Zheng, and Wang’s (2008) Chinese PANAS scale. Items were rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (very slightly) to 5 (very strongly). A factor analysis on positive and negative affect items yielded a two-factor solution; however, one adjective (“alert”) had low loadings on both factors and was removed from subsequent analyses. Among the retained 23 adjectives, 13 measured positive affect, with an α coefficient of .91 in the current sample, and 10 measured negative affect, with an α coefficient of .86 in the current sample.

Academic performance

Academic performance was measured by participants’ first-year cumulative GPA (on a 4-point scale) obtained from the University Registrar.

Control variables

We controlled for several demographic variables that previous research has suggested might influence college students’ adjustment and outcomes including gender, regions of origin (local vs. non-local), health status, and financial status. For instance, gender, health status, and financial status have been found to be related to SWB (Diener et al., 1999). Wu (2011) surveyed 473 Chinese college freshmen and found that students who came from the city where the university was located (local students) reported better academic adjustment and stronger identification with the new environment than students who came from another city (non-local students). Health status and financial status were also found to be positively correlated with subject well-being among Chinese college students (e.g., Dan, 2010; Zha, 2010). One question asked participants whether they came from the local city nor not. One question asked participants to self-rate their health status on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). Another question asked participants to self-rate their financial status on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good).

Results

Means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations among study variables are presented in Table 1. As can be seen, social self-efficacy was positively correlated to perceived social support, which in turn was significantly correlated with most of self-reported adjustment and outcome variables. Both academic adjustment and social adjustment were positively, whereas depression was negatively, correlated with life satisfaction and positive affect. Finally, academic adjustment was positively correlated, but depression was negatively correlated with first-year GPA. These results provided initial support for many of our hypotheses. We next conducted structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses to test the hypothesized process model.

Table 1.

Means, Standard Deviations, and Intercorrelations of Study Variables.

Variable	Mean	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
1. Gender	—	—	—
2. Region of origin	—	—	.07	—
3. Health status	3.94	0.78	.09	−.01	—
4. Economic status	2.95	0.70	.08	−.26**	.10*	—
5. Social self-efficacy	86.77	13.34	−.01	.04	.23**	.12*	(.92)
6. Perceived social support	38.83	7.59	−.00	−.04	.02	.03	.17**	(.88)
7. Academic adjustment	27.83	7.22	.04	−.07	.09	.09*	.28**	.32**	(.89)
8. Social adjustment	25.78	4.88	.01	−.12**	.13**	.17**	.46**	.33**	.54**	(.79)
9. Depression	29.37	6.70	.02	.03	−.17**	−.05	−.28**	−.29**	−.53**	−.51**	(.83)
10. Satisfaction with life	22.88	5.67	.07	−.08	.17**	.14**	.30**	.35**	.44**	.39**	−.49**	(.86)
11. Positive affect	42.27	8.32	−.04	.10*	.13**	−.02	.41**	.28**	.39**	.38**	−.43**	.57**	(.91)
12. Negative affect	17.40	5.89	−.04	−.05	.01	−.08	.01	−.03	−.05	−.04	.03	.00	−.05	(.86)
13. First-year GPA	2.99	0.37	.24**	−.09	−.02	.16**	.03	.08	.23**	.04	−.16**	.12*	.06	−.01	—

Note. n = 474. GPA = grade point average. Gender: 1 = male, 2 = female. Region of origin: 1 = local, 2 = non-local. Health status: 1 = very poor, 5 = very good. Financial status: 1 = very poor, 5 = very good. Numbers in the parentheses are α coefficients for respective inventories. *p < .05, **p < .01.

In testing SEM models, we first created three parcels for social self-efficacy, two parcels for perceived social support, three parcels for academic adjustment, three parcels for social adjustment, and three parcels for depression. We used scores on life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect as three indicators of SWB. We then examined the measurement model using LISREL (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1996). We used several indices to assess overall model fit: Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), comparative fit index (CFI), nonnormed fit index (NNFI), and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR). According to Hu and Bentler (1999), RMSEA ≤ .06, SRMR ≤ .08, CFI ≥ .95, and NNFI ≥ .95 indicate good model fit. A confirmatory factor analysis in which all latent factors were allowed to covary yielded adequate fit: χ²(104, n = 474) =198.55, p < .01, RMSEA = .044 with the 90% confidence interval of [.035, .053], CFI = .99, NNFI = .99, and SRMR = .036.

After establishing the measurement model, we tested the structural model, by replacing factor covariances with directional paths based on our earlier theoretical discussions. As for the four control variables, the structural model treated them as exogenous variables, that is, they all had direct paths to the mediators and outcome variables and they were allowed to covary with other exogenous latent variables and among themselves. Finally, we included direct links from perceived social support to academic performance and SWB to account for effects above and beyond those of the three adjustment variables.

The structural model had adequate fit: χ²(164, n = 474) = 474.47, p < .01, and RMSEA = .063 with the 90% CI of [.057, .070], CFI = .97, NNFI = .95, and SRMR = .075. We reported significant standardized paths in Figure 1. As can be seen, social self-efficacy positively related to perceived social support (β = .21, p < .01), which in turn positively related to academic adjustment (β = .15, p < .01) and social adjustment (β = .37, p < .01) but negatively related to depression (β = −.38, p < .01). Social adjustment positively related to academic adjustment (β = .59, p < .01). Academic adjustment positively related to first-year GPA (β = .28, p < .01) and SWB (β = .18, p < .01). The direct path from social adjustment to first-year GPA was negative (β = −.25, p < .01), but the direct path from social adjustment to SWB was positive (β = .17, p < .01). Depression negatively related to first-year GPA (β = −.16, p < .01) and SWB (β = −.44, p < .01). In addition, the direct paths from social self-efficacy to academic adjustment were not significant (β = −.04), whereas those from social self-efficacy to social adjustment and depression were significant, β = .47 and −.24, ps < .01, respectively. The direct path from perceived social support to first-year GPA was not significant (β = −.03), but the link from perceived social support to SWB was significant (β = .18, p < .01).

We then tested several mediation effects using both the Sobel Test and the bootstrap method (Shrout & Bolger, 2002). The results are reported in Table 2. As can be seen, the total indirect effect of social self-efficacy on academic adjustment through perceived social support was significant in the Sobel Test (total indirect effect = .72, z = 7.43, p < .01), and the 95% bootstrapping CI [.57, .87] did not contain zero. Given a nonsignificant direct link from social self-efficacy to academic adjustment, these results established perceived social support as a full mediator between social self-efficacy and academic adjustment. The indirect link of social self-efficacy–perceived social support–social adjustment was significant in the Sobel Test (indirect effect = .13, z = 3.39, p < .01), and the 95% bootstrapping CI [.06, .21] did not contain zero. Similarly, the indirect link of social self-efficacy–perceived social support–depression was significant in the Sobel Test (indirect effect = −.05, z = −3.34, p < .01), and the 95% bootstrapping CI [−.08, −.02] did not contain zero. These results, coupled with significant direct links from social self-efficacy to social adjustment and depression, established perceived social support as a partial mediator between social self-efficacy and social adjustment and depression.

Table 2.

Sobel Test and Bootstrap Results for Indirect Effects.

Indirect links	Indirect effect	z Value	95% Bootstrapping CI
Social self-efficacy–perceived social support–academic adjustment	.72	7.43**	[.57, .87]
Social self-efficacy–perceived social support–social adjustment	.13	3.39**	[.06, .21]
Social self-efficacy–perceived social support–depression	−.05	−3.34**	[−.08, −.02]
Perceived social support–social adjustment–academic adjustment	.28	5.46**	[.18, .39]
Social adjustment–academic adjustment–first-year GPA	.07	3.63**	[.03, .11]
Social adjustment–academic adjustment–SWB	.11	2.63**	[.03, .18]

Note. n = 474. CI = confidence interval; GPA = grade point average; SWB = subjective well-being. Indirect effects were calculated based on unstandardized path coefficients.

^aThe link from perceived social support to academic adjustment includes both the direct link and the indirect link from perceived social support to academic adjustment through social adjustment. *p < .05, **p < .01.

The indirect link of perceived social support–social adjustment–academic adjustment was significant in the Sobel Test (indirect effect = .28, z = 5.46, p < .01), and the 95% bootstrapping CI [.18, .39] did not contain zero. This result, coupled with a significant direct link, indicated that social adjustment partially mediated the perceived social support–academic adjustment relationship. The indirect link of social adjustment–academic adjustment–first-year GPA was also significant in the Sobel Test (indirect effect = .07, z = 3.63, p < .01), and the 95% bootstrapping CI [.03, .11] did not contain zero; however, given the significant negative direct link and a nonsignificant total effect (−.04, ns), it seems that we have observed a suppression effect. Finally, the indirect link of social adjustment–academic adjustment–SWB was significant in the Sobel Test (indirect effect = .11, z = 2.63, p < .01), and the 95% bootstrapping CI [.03, .18] did not contain zero. This result, coupled with a significant direct link, established academic adjustment as a partial mediator between social adjustment and SWB.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to further explicate the facilitative role of Chinese adult social self-efficacy during Chinese college students’ first-year transition. We proposed and tested a process model in which perceived social support was hypothesized as a key mediator between social self-efficacy and college adjustment. Results based on a four-wave longitudinal survey study with multisource data supported the hypothesized model. Specifically, we found that social self-efficacy (Month 1) positively related to perceived social support (Month 4), which in turn positively related to academic and social adjustment, but negatively related to depression (Month 7). Further, perceived social support was found to fully mediate the social self-efficacy–academic adjustment link and partially mediate the relationships between social self-efficacy and social adjustment and depression. These findings supported our argument that a strong social self-efficacy enables Chinese college freshmen to form supportive relationships, which help them better cope with various demands in the new environment and then result in better adjustment at college. The partial mediations implied the existence of other mediators between social self-efficacy and social adjustment and depression. For instance, we mentioned earlier that individuals with a high level of social self-efficacy may engage in prosocial behaviors, that is, they may provide social support to others, which some initial empirical evidences suggested may also promote well-being (see Taylor, 2011). Future research should test this interesting mechanism.

Furthermore, the results indicated that the three adjustment variables (Month 7) predicted the two distal outcomes of academic performance (first-year GPA) and SWB (Month 10). Specifically, academic adjustment positively predicted, whereas depression negatively predicted, first-year GPA. The relationship between social adjustment and GPA was complex (to be discussed subsequently). Academic adjustment and social adjustment positively predicted SWB, whereas depression negatively predicted SWB. It is noteworthy that these significant relationships were obtained when the three adjustment variables and the two distal outcomes were simultaneously included in the model. Thus, the above findings established the utility of the two positive adjustment variables, in that they explained additional variances in the two distal outcomes above and beyond that by depression. As such, we conclude that the expansion of domains of college adjustment to include positive adjustment variables as recommended by Wei et al. (2005) has been justified.

The results also revealed interesting, yet complex pathways linking social self-efficacy to academic adjustment and performance through perceived social support. In one pathway, perceived social support positively related to academic adjustment, which in turn positively related to first-year GPA. One interpretation of this pathway was that among various types of social support Chinese college freshmen might receive, some were instrumental and/or informational, which should directly address academic requirements, thus academic adjustment. In another pathway, perceived social support positively predicted academic adjustment through social adjustment. This finding suggested that some social support took the form of emotional support, which in turn may facilitate academic adjustment. These two pathways had similarly large effects, pointing to their roughly equal importance in predicting academic adjustment.

The pathway linking social adjustment to first-year GPA was especially interesting: Although the overall effect was nonsignificant, there was a significant and positive indirect link through academic adjustment and a significant and negative direct link. One possible interpretation is that social adjustment might be a double-edged sword. On one hand, social adjustment provided emotional support that college freshmen needed to achieve better academic adjustment and in turn better academic performance. On the other hand, social adjustment might imply that college freshmen probably spent a lot of time in various social activities, resulting in reduced study time, which in turn harmed academic performance. Future research should identify and examine negative mediators (e.g., study time) between social adjustment and first-year GPA.

Contributions

This study makes several important contributions. First, this study provided further, more convincing evidence for the utility of the Western concept of adult social self-efficacy in Oriental societies such as China. The results showed that social self-efficacy was highly facilitative of Chinese college freshmen’s first-year transition. Our findings clearly indicated that a blind embracement of cross-cultural specificity view (e.g., Erez, 2008; Lindley, 2006) may prove counterproductive when studying adult social self-efficacy in Chinese societies. Brewer and Chen (2007) insightfully pointed out that individuals in all cultures must “achieve a balance between expression of individuality and social conformity” (p. 137).

Second, this study adds to the limited research examining mechanisms of adult social self-efficacy by identifying and empirically establishing perceived social support as a critical mediator between adult social self-efficacy and college adjustment in a longitudinal study. Third, this study addressed Wei et al.’s (2005) call for considering both positive and negative mental health outcomes when studying college adjustment. We expanded the conceptual domain of college adjustment by incorporating academic and social adjustment as two positive adjustment variables and empirically demonstrated their usefulness. Fourth, we linked college adjustment variables to the two bottom-line outcomes during college students’ first-year transition: academic performance and SWB. Although counseling psychologists have consistently paid attention to psychological outcomes, they have seldom examined academic performance, which is considered a decisively vital outcome by college students, their parents, and the university. This study thus reminds us of the importance of both distal outcomes.

Methodologically, although previous studies have examined relationships among various constructs in the hypothesized model in a piecemeal fashion, this study tested these relationships in their entirety through a process model. Further, we separated the measurement of various constructs by time and collected multisource data. Such a rigorous design has been rare in this literature and has boosted our confidence in (not fully established though) the causal relationships among various constructs in the model.

Limitations and Future Research Directions

Several limitations should be kept in mind when interpreting our results. The first limitation concerns external validity. Given our college freshmen sample, it is unknown whether our findings might generalize to other adult populations in similar social contexts, for instance, college graduates entering into graduate schools and new employees entering into the new organization. Future research is needed to replicate our findings in various social contexts involving different adult populations. The second limitation is that our sample was dominated by female participants (81%). Caution thus needs to be exercised when generalizing our findings to male Chinese college freshmen. Future research with a more balanced gender composition is needed to replicate the results of this study.

The third limitation is that although we have established several mediated links through a longitudinal design, given the survey nature of our study, we cannot rule out the reversed causality direction. Future intervention research manipulating social self-efficacy is needed to fully establish causality. Further, by measuring each variable only at a single point in time, we might have missed the opportunity to examine the temporal precedence among the variables, to control for autoregression, and to explore bidirectional paths. Future research should consider using more sophisticated repeated measures design.

In addition, although the Western concept of adult social self-efficacy was shown to facilitate Chinese college students’ first-year transition, whether its benefits might extend to later years in college is unknown. According to Fan et al. (2010), when an individual has made new friends and has settled down in a new social environment, the perceived ability in initiating interpersonal relationship might be less relevant, whereas the perceived ability in maintaining interpersonal harmony with friends might become more important. Unfortunately, most of Smith and Betz’s (2000) PSSE items tap into the initiating part of social self-efficacy, with relatively few items focusing on the maintenance part. Future researchers should consider differentiating these two components of adult social self-efficacy and then examining their differential roles as interpersonal relationships unfold over time. Such a differentiation might be particularly relevant within Oriental societies such as China, where the individuals and the group are granted equal importance (Markus & Kitayama, 1991).

Implications for Career Assessment and Development

Our research findings have several implications for career assessment and development. First, assuming that future research may establish the causal effects of social self-efficacy on perceived social support and adjustment in the new environment, Chinese university counseling centers should consider assessing and boosting college freshmen’ social self-efficacy. Many Chinese universities have college freshmen go through a mandatory psychological assessment for self-awareness and development purposes shortly after they arrive on campus. This assessment typically includes a personality inventory and several mental health questionnaires. We suggest that the Chinese PSSE inventory be added to the assessment package and that college freshmen with a low level of social self-efficacy be offered various programs and professional services to address this deficiency. It might also be possible to incorporate some of these interventions into Chinese college freshmen orientation programs. Bandura’s (1986, 1997) self-efficacy theory offered several useful strategies to consider when designing such interventions, for instance, through mastery experiences, vicarious learning, and social persuasion. In addition, the assertiveness training, which has been popular in Western societies, but which has not been widely used by Chinese counseling psychologists, may also prove effective in Chinese societies.

Second, counselors may choose to expand college freshmen’s social support system directly. For instance, they may educate freshmen on the importance of developing a strong social support system in the new environment; they may teach freshmen how to assess the status of their current social network; they may recommend various strategies on how to form a strong social support network; they may identify and address behavioral and cognitive deficiencies that thwart freshmen’ efforts in carrying out the recommended strategies.

Third, when freshmen’s presenting issues are academic in nature, counselors should not only consider strategies that address their academic concerns directly but also explore the option of leveraging social self-efficacy and/or social support as an alternative way to address academic concerns. Although the above practical implications based on our findings in China may appear nothing new from a Western counselor’s perspective, we believe that it is important and reassuring to know that many of the counseling strategies/techniques commonly used in Western societies may actually be highly applicable in Oriental societies such as China. That is, it might not be most efficient or effective for counseling professionals in China to reinvent the wheel.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation of China, Grant 71202153, awarded to Hui Meng, and a grant from the Shanghai Pujiang Program, China, Grant 10PJC034, awarded to Hui Meng.

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