The Moderating Effect of Emotional Expression on the Relationship between College Students' Social Problem-Solving Ability and Adaptation to College Life

Objectives The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of emotional expression in the relationship between college students' social problem-solving ability and their adjustment to college life. Methods To achieve this, an online survey was conducted with college students enrolled in four-year universities located in Busan, Ulsan, and Daejeon, and a total of 157 responses were used for the final statistical analysis. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 for descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, and correlation analysis. Additionally, the moderating effect was tested using Process Macro for SPSS V3.5, Model 1. Results First, college students' social problem-solving ability was found to have a significant positive impact on their adjustment to college life. Second, college students' emotional expression was found to have a significant positive impact on their adjustment to college life. Third, emotional expression was found to moderate the relationship between social problem-solving ability and adjustment to college life. Conclusions First, the study is significant in that it verified the relationship between college students' social problem-solving ability, adjustment to college life, and emotional expression, and demonstrated that emotional expression plays an important moderating role in these relationships. Second, by identifying the key variables that influence college students' adjustment to college life, the study provides foundational data that can be used for effective intervention in counseling situations for students with low adjustment to college life. Third, the findings of this study offer implications for the development of counseling and educational programs related to social problem-solving ability and emotional expression, which can help improve college students' adjustment to college life.