Recent developments in society have resulted in multiple financial cutbacks in higher education. These cutbacks have consequences for both universities and students. To prevent students from...Show moreRecent developments in society have resulted in multiple financial cutbacks in higher education. These cutbacks have consequences for both universities and students. To prevent students from dropping out of college and facing high financial costs as well as personal problems, it has now become crucial for adolescents to choose their subject of study carefully. This process of choice involves rational factors as well as socio-emotional factors relevant to studying and college life. In this study we examined whether older adolescents (ages 17-18) put more emphasis on rational factors than socio-emotional factors, than younger adolescents (ages 12-13 and 14-15). Healthy adolescents (31 boys, 29 girls, ages 11-18) read a college brochure, written especially for this study. The brochure contained 26 rational and 26 socio-emotional factors relevant to studying and college life. Afterwards they were asked to write down everything they remembered of the brochure. The amount of rational and socio-emotional factors students in different age groups were able to recall was measured and compared. Age-related changes in the amount of factors and type of factor recalled were found. Findings suggest that, even though older adolescents value rational factors more than younger adolescents do, they still seem to emphasize social-emotional factors too much when confronted with study- and college-related information. Further research is needed to explore if there is a relation between the emphasis of adolescents on social-emotional factors and college drop-out rates.Show less
