Examining Gender Disparity, Emotional Regulation And Social Anxiety In Academic Adjustment Of First Year University Students

ABSTRACT

In Nigerian Universities, an essential factor is academic adjustment. There is always the

need for adjustment among undergraduate students. This study examined gender disparity,

emotional regulation and social anxiety in the academic adjustment of first year university

students. This study adopted an expos! facto research design. A total of 297 participants were

sampled in this study using convenience sampling technique. The participants' mean age was

19.24 years with standard deviation of 1.99 years. A structured questionnaire consisted of

demographics and scales were used to collect data in this study. Three hypotheses were tested in

this study using 1-test for independent samples. Results showed that male significantly influence

higher academic adjustment than female among first year university students (t = 2.60; df= 295;

p < .05). Emotional regulation had no significant influence on the academic adjustment of first

year university students (1 = -0.08; df = 295; p >.05). Those who score low in social anxiety

significantly influence higher academic adjustment than those who score high in social anxiety

among first year university students (t = -8.46; df= 295, p < .05). Findings were discussed in the

light of relevant literature. It is concluded that problems with academic adjustment among first

year undergraduate students can lead to student's failure to complete educational program and

drop out.

Keywords: Academic adjustment, gender disparity, emotional regulation, social anxiety, first year undergraduates.