PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS RELATED TO RETENTION AND EARLY DEPARTURE OF 2-YEAR COMMUNITY-COLLEGE STUDENTS

The present study is based on the theoretical model of college retenti on developed by Tinto (1975, 1987, 1993) and subsequent validation eff orts of others (Bers and Smith, 1991;Munro, 1981; Pascarella and Chapm an, 1983a, b; Pascarella and Terenzini, 1983, 1991). The first goal of the study was to assess the validity of the model on a two-year commu nity college sample. The second goal was to extend and further refine the model by examining the mediational influences of a comprehensive s et of psychosocial measures (i.e., life events occurring during the fi rst semester of college, social support, self-esteem, social competenc e, personal conscientiousness, psychological well-being, and satisfact ion with the academic, administrative, and social systems of college) on the constructs within Tinto's (1987, 1993) model. Results confirm t he generalizability of the model to two-year community college populat ions. In addition, the structural equations model revealed that the ps ychosocial measures have both direct and indirect effects on college p ersistence.