The college student faces a unique set of experiences that are rarely shared with a partner who does not attend the same school. Whether this partner lives five or 500 miles away, the task of maintaining both the relationship and the educational experience is not an easy one. In most cases, students will have to decide which relationships are more important. Time and energy will become devoted more to either the relationship or new friendships. It is logical to assume that social adjustment, while being very important in the college experience, can sometimes fall to the back burner in students involved in these relationships. .
I intend to find that students in these types of relationships will not only report having higher levels of stress than their single counterparts, but will also be less socially adjusted to their college environment. This relates to my previous research by showing in yet another way how non-traditional or difficult relationships affect the experiences and stress levels of college students. I intend to show through my investigation how people incorporate their relationships into becoming socially adjusted. This study should show what key elements in a romantic relationship enable social adjustment to occur and flourish in a college student.
IV. Purpose.
The purpose of my investigation is to find out how a certain type of romantic relationship affects a college student. My specific research question is: How do romantic relationships between people who do not attend the same school affect the social adjustment to college life among students? .
One key term that is necessary to define is "social adjustment". Different people might define this word in different ways. In the article "Expectation and Reality in Freshman Adjustment to College," Robert W. Baker defines adjustment as participation in campus activities or attainment of campus leadership positions, and academic performance in college (Baker).