Addressing the Stressful First Year in College: Could Peer Mentoring Be a Critical Strategy?

Abstract

Peer mentoring has emerged as a viable retention strategy to aid higher education institutions in their efforts to ensure freshmen students make it through that crucial first year and beyond and obtain that degree. Although peer mentoring has been in existence for decades and, there is increasing research on this topic, there are no reviews of the literature more recent than 2009. Utilizing an integrative literature review, the research presented in this article provides an overview of current existing peer mentoring literature specific to its impact on stress and adjustment in the first year of college and retention outcomes in higher education. Findings from this study are aimed at informing best practices in first-year college retention efforts and raising awareness among higher education professionals on the psychosocial challenges many college freshmen bring with them and how it can negatively impact retention outcomes.