Interindividual differences in intraindividual changes in proactivity during organizational entry: A latent growth modeling approach to understandingnewcomer adaptation

Intraindividual change over time is the essence of the change phenomenon hy pothesized to occur in the individual newcomer adaptation process. Many imp ortant adaptation questions cannot be answered without an adequate conceptu alization and assessment of intraindividual change. Using a latent growth m odeling approach to data collected from 146 doctoral program newcomers over 4 repeated measurements spaced at 1-month intervals, the authors explicitl y modeled interindividual differences in intraindividual changes in newcome r proactivities (information seeking, relationship building) and proximal a daptation outcomes (task mastery, role clarity, social integration) during organizational entry. Results indicated that changes in proactivity may be related to newcomer characteristics and adaptation outcomes in interesting ways that have not been previously examined.