Dynamics and determinants of post-secondary students' adjustment during wartime: a longitudinal study

Purpose This study examines how post-secondary students' adjustment changes over time during prolonged wartime and identifies the psychological factors that predict adjustment at different stages of crisis. While prior research has explored student adjustment during short-term disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of sustained armed conflict on post-secondary students' academic and psychological functioning remain underexplored. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal design tracked 83 Israeli first-year post-secondary students across two consecutive academic years during the Iron Swords War. Participants completed self-report measures of adjustment, locus of control, well-being (Diener et al., 1985) and general anxiety at Time 1 (October 2024) and Time 2 (April–May 2025). Paired-samples t-tests and stepwise regression analyses were employed. Findings Results revealed a significant decline in total adjustment and institutional attachment over time. Psychological predictors shifted substantially: locus of control was the sole predictor at Time 1 (13.8%), whereas well-being, locus of control and anxiety jointly explained 46.7% of variance at Time 2. Originality/value This is among the first longitudinal studies to examine student adjustment during active, prolonged wartime, extending Tinto's (1975) integration model to conflict conditions. The findings demonstrate that prolonged crisis transforms the psychological landscape of post-secondary students' adjustment, with implications for designing timely, psychologically informed institutional support.