College-bound students: are we meeting their needs?

This research investigated the relationship of educational level and marital status of parents, number of children in the family, and family stability to the social, emotional, and academic development of college-bound students. Subjects were 52 tenth-grade college-preparatory students from a southern public high school. Data were collected using the Measures of Psychosocial Development (MPD), the School Environment Preference Survey (SEPS), and the Study Attitudes and Methods Survey (SAMS). Results of a multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant differences in autonomy, initiative, ego integrity, guilt, isolation, academic interest, study methods, manipulation, and alientation toward authority. Implications for school personnel are noted.