Influence of Family Constellations on the Psychosocial Adjustment of Regular Undergraduate Students in Universities within Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

University students are facing numerous challenges which affect their psychological and social adjustment. In view of the fact that the family and family structure play a significant role in the psychological and social development and adjustment of these students to university life. This study sought to assess the influence of family constellations on psychosocial adjustments of regular undergraduate students in Nakuru County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to determine the influence of family constellations on: self-esteem, self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, pro-social behaviour and social skills development of regular undergraduate Students in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study used a mixed-method research approach and adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The target population was 2862 Third year regular undergraduate students from five selected universities. A random sample of 307 students forming a 90.6 percent response rate was selected. Stratified random sampling was used to distribute the sample in the five selected universities. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaire and interview schedule, while secondary data was collected from existing documents about the topic under study. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages and means) and inferential statistics (ANOVA and Chi Square test) with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21.0 for Windows; while qualitative data will be analyzed using thematic content analysis. The study findings indicate that majority of the respondents came from dual (nuclear) parent families. There was a statistically significant difference in the self-esteem and self-efficacy of regular undergraduate students from different family structures. The study recommends that there is a need for parents to maintain a unified family structure in order to encourage holistic psychosocial development and adjustment of their children in the universities. There is a need for parents to create a warm close and supportive relationship with their children in the universities. There is need to encourage university students to seek guidance and counselling services in order to effectively adjust psychologically and socially to the new university environment.