Native American-Identified Students’ Transition to College: A Theoretical Model of Coping Challenges and Resources

Abstract

Interviews with 10 first-year Native American students at a predominately White institution focused on perceptions of risk and protective factors for persistence. Grounded theory analyses suggested a model of mixed resources from two clusters of sources that assist adaptation. Participants generally experienced very high anxiety during the initial 6 to 8 weeks on campus. To cope, they tended to rely initially on established relationships with family and close others off-campus. As participants became more familiar with the university, they formed new connections with faculty, staff, and campus peers. Participants also became more resilient in the face of obstacles through use of internal coping strategies. Through this transition process, participants became involved in various campus support programs or organizations and resolved to further explore their Native American heritage. First-year transition efforts should consider interventions to help Native American-identified students to manage anxiety and form connections on campus very early in their initial semester.