Problem-Focused Coping Mechanisms and Social Adjustment: Implications for Resilience development among Students in the University of Bamenda

Purpose: This study investigated problem focused coping mechanisms and social adjustment: Implications for Resilience development among Students in The University of Bamenda. Social adjustment of students is an issue of great concern to many, especially parents, teachers, counsellors and psychologists. This is based on the notion that the students social dimension deals with interpersonal or public interactions with other individuals. Hence, the students, especially those in the university are faced with social problems as well as academic problems that seem to have become part and parcel of the university. The condition where students are unable to adjust socially in school has become a worrisome phenomenon because of its tendency to affect their academic outputs and the likelihood that they may resort to anti-social behaviours like drug use and abuse, robbery, alcoholism, rape among others as a coping mechanism. Hence, this study investigated the relationship between problem focused coping mechanisms and social adjustment of students’ visa á vis the implications for resilient development among university students. Materials and Methods: A concurrent nested mixed method design of both the descriptive survey and ethnographic design were used to conduct this study. A sample of 200 university students was chosen for this study using convenient and purposive sampling techniques. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse collected data. Based on the above, it was realised that a moderate positive relationship (R = 0.719) exists between problem-focused coping mechanism and social adjustment of students thus fostering the development of resilience among students. Two theories were used to inform this study; The Resilience theory by Michael Rutter (2006) and the cognitive theory of coping by Folkman and Lazarus (1988). Findings: The findings revealed that problem focused coping mechanisms has a positive relationship with the social adjustment of students in the University of Bamenda. Implications to Theory, Policy and Practice: Based on these findings, some recommendations like; University management should have functional psychological testing and counselling centres in addressing students with social problems for proper social adjustment, teachers, administrators should pay more attention to undergraduate students with emotional problems and refer them to school psychological testing and counselling centres.