ERIC Number: EJ935762
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1521-0251
EISSN: N/A
Application of Investment Theory to Predicting Maintenance of the Intent to Stay among Freshmen
Barry, Chloe Y. H.; Okun, Morris A.
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, v13 n1 p87-107 2011-2012
Recently, it has been suggested that constructs from different disciplines should be incorporated into Tinto's (1993) sociological model of the determinants of departure from college (Ackerman & Schibrowsky, 2007). We tested the hypothesis that variables derived from Rusbult's (1983) social-psychological investment theory contribute, above and beyond variables derived from Tinto's model, to the prediction of maintaining the intent to stay at a university. A sample of 218 first-semester freshmen at a large southwestern university who indicated at the beginning of the fall 2007 semester that they intended to stay subsequently completed a questionnaire assessing integration variables (goal commitment, social integration, and academic integration), investment variables (satisfaction level, investment size, and quality of alternatives), and college graduation intention (stay versus transfer). A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that two variables derived from investment theory--satisfaction level and quality of alternatives--affected the log odds of students maintaining their intent to stay. (Contains 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Social Integration, Academic Persistence, Graduation, College Freshmen, Higher Education, Regression (Statistics), College Students, Enrollment, Models, College Graduates, Satisfaction, Questionnaires, Young Adults, Reliability, Correlation, Predictor Variables
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A