Examining the Effects of Residence and Gender on College Student Adjustment in Iran: Implications for Psychotherapists

Abstract

This study examined the effects of on-campus residence, in comparison with commuter status, on academic performance, vocational commitment, self-efficacy, and perceptions of the college environment among female and male Iranian students at Shiraz University, Iran. The study sought to extend previous work investigating the effects of college residence on adjustment by testing these effects with a national population that has received relatively little attention in the extant counseling literature. Nearly all previously published studies exploring these phenomena have focused exclusively on college students in the United States. We found that residential living had positive effects on student adjustment and academic performance and that these effects were mediated by gender. Implications of these findings for the college psychotherapy and student development knowledge base, college and university psychotherapists working with international students and American students of Middle Eastern and Northern African descent in the United States, and college counseling professionals working in Middle Eastern and North African nations, as well as critical limitations of the study, are discussed.