Concurrent and Predictive Validity of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire in a Sample of European Freshman Students

Abstract

This study represents the first attempt to examine the validity of scores on the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) in a sample of European university students. Concurrent validity was established through significant correlations in the expected direction with alternative measures of student adjustment (academic motivation, loneliness, depression, and general adjustment to university). Further concurrent validity evidence for selected subscales was provided through moderate associations with students’engagement in social activities and their self-reported use of psychological services provided on campus. Findings regarding predictive validity, as assessed through correlations with student attrition and academic results, went in the expected direction but were somewhat less convincing. The latter results are explained in terms of differences between European and North American systems of higher education. With some reservations regarding the Academic Adjustment subscale, then, the SACQ seems to be a useful tool for research on university life among college students in Europe.