Existential Concerns, Meaning, and College Adjustment Among Undergraduate College Students

Transitioning to college is a psychologically vulnerable time for students, and existential anxiety (EA) may create additional adjustment challenges. EA describes the psychological distress that can arise from central metaphysical concerns. Established research has highlighted potential sources of EA in college such as social isolation, identity disruption, and meaninglessness (Diehl et al., 2018; Jones et al., 2021; Shin & Steger, 2016). This article examines the role of existential anxiety and meaning in relation to college adjustment and the coping process. A survey was administered over 14 weeks with undergraduate students (n = 178) measuring EA, meaning in life, college adjustment, and coping methods. We expected EA and meaninglessness to correspond with worsening college adjustment and predicted Emotion and Avoidant Focused coping to be the most commonly endorsed methods of coping. Pearson’s correlations found a positive relationship between college adjustment and Presence of Meaning, r(177) = .29, p > .001, and a negative relationship with EA, r(177) = –.36, p > .001. In a linear regression Searching for Meaning, Presence of Meaning, and psychological distress predicted college adjustment, R2 = .48, F(7, 166) = 23.71, p < .001. We conclude that EA has an indirect relationship to college adjustment through a magnification of existing psychological distress. Similarly, meaning proved to be a powerful variable. These findings present college students as a relevant population for existential psychology as well as highlighting the impact of meaning in existential psychology.