The 2023 Transition to College Survey by CollegeData.com found that over half of college students experience homesickness. While there are practical ways to cope with homesickness, such as those provided in a 2023 report by Forbes.com, it’s also helpful for students to have a conceptual understanding of homesickness to articulate what they feel, avoid misperceptions about their experiences, and to develop a shared language, which can be used while discussing their emotions with loved ones.
A Sign Of Attachment
Attachment theory explores the patten of interactions and the emotional relationships that individuals have with others. As discussed by a 2023 report from VeryWellMind.com, a key factor in secure attachment styles is the establishment of a secure base. Parents typically represent secure bases for children, which allows children to explore the world with comfort. Separation from secure bases creates anxiety.
For many students, starting college adds distance between themselves and their secure bases. Thus, homesickness is an expected reaction, especially for students who don’t know anyone at the new school. A misperception occurs when students believe that they will lose their secure bases after starting college, or that they must replace all their social attachments. Most students will gain secure bases and social attachments during college in the form of the campus, peers, romantic partners, etc. The secure bases and social attachments of students will not be replaced by college, but rather expanded.
A Byproduct Of Change
During the lifespan of many individuals, there are only a handful of times in which it’s expected that every aspect of life will change, and starting college is one of them. For many students, the time between high school graduation and starting college completely changed every aspect of their lives, but it’s common for students (and families) to overlook the amount of life changes that are occurring. Starting college is generally exciting, and it’s easy to focus on classes, new friends, athletics, peers, etc.
As described by a 2020 report from Health Central, the ability to cope with change is association with anxiety, depression, and feeling overwhelmed in life. An important factor in becoming resilient through change is acknowledging the transitions in order to practice self-care.
Developmental Tasks
In 2016, PsychCentral released a summary outlining developmental tasks that students typically complete while in college. Such developmental tasks signify a transition from adolescence to adulthood and are the why the traditional college-aged years are called emerging adulthood. Developmental tasks are demands from the environment, and starting college is the first time that many students face these demands on their own. As such, a frequently overlooked factor in homesickness is the fear of failure and not being able to complete these tasks.
A 2023 study in the Journal of Social Research found that lower levels of self-efficacy are associated with increased homesickness. The fear of failure can trigger the desire in some students to return home to a less demanding environment. It’s important to note that developmental tasks exist in any environment and many campuses have support programs specifically designed for emerging adults.
Coping with homesickness is vital for the success of college students. As a 2024 post by Mental Health American indicated, unresolved homesickness can interfere with everyday activities and require some students to seek counseling. However, homesickness is also an expected reaction that is a sign of attachment, a byproduct of change, and signifies the emergence into adulthood.