The excited waiting of thousands of university candidates ended with the announcement of the YKS results. Clinical Psychologist Yağmur Callak, who said that a new rush awaits the candidates who will start the university after the exam stress, stated that new conflicts that they have not experienced before suddenly appear in front of the young people.
Saying, “Entrance to university is usually the first and most important step towards becoming a single individual,” Callak said, “In the process of adaptation to university, factors such as gender, number of siblings, upbringing, and the socio-cultural environment the individual grew up in are also important. For example, students coming from smaller cities to metropolises have more adaptation problems. "Young people from multi-sibling families seem to be better at making friends and socializing."
THE NEED FOR BEGINNING AND SOCIALITY
Stating that the need for belonging and sociality is at the forefront in the age range of 18-25, Clinical Psychologist Yağmur Callak from Istanbul Gelişim University gave the following advice to young people:
“Young people who are separated from their families for the first time and who experience uncertainty and anxiety about what to do next should not forget this: Every young person who steps into university for the first time experiences this feeling. Evaluating the first months of the university in the most efficient way is important in terms of belonging and adaptation. First of all, young people need to get out of their dorm rooms and get to know the university campus and the relevant neighborhood in order to find out how and where they can meet their needs. Learning how and where to meet their needs prevents negative feelings such as inadequacy. Universities organize orientation programs in order to introduce the university in the first weeks. Participation of students in orientations is important in terms of getting to know the university roughly and learning from which units they can meet their academic needs.”
Expressing the importance of socialization for students, Callak said, “Promotions about student clubs are presented to students in the first weeks of the semester. Students' orientation to student clubs according to their interests will reduce the feeling of being unfamiliar with the university and will increase the sense of belonging as it brings together young people who are interested in similar fields. It is also very important to attend the classes regularly from the first week. In this way, he will get to know his classmates and lecturers simultaneously with others, and this will reduce unfamiliarity with the department, courses and lecturers. So basically, we shouldn't ignore or delay the adaptation process; He must act immediately,” he said.
STUDENT SHOULD KNOW HOW TO REQUEST SUPPORT
Stating that especially in the first year of the university, the student and his family have a responsibility, Callak said, “Students who have academic, financial and emotional difficulties should know how to demand the necessary support. Universities, unlike high schools, are not educational institutions where the academic staff can fully control the student's life. Thousands of students enter universities each year. Therefore, first of all, the student should apply to the relevant academic staff or the psychological counseling centers that are usually found in the universities themselves. Families, on the other hand, should be interested and knowledgeable in their children's lives. What I mean here is not to question or judge the child's life. Observing whether their children are able to cope with the new situations they encounter academically, socially and emotionally as individuals and to provide their share of support.”
FAMILY ANXIETY AND FEAR
Callak said that various anxieties and fears arose in families with their children starting university.
Callak said, "The parenting style we call anxious attachment is quite common in the Turkish family system," and concluded his words as follows:
“Such parents are almost sure that something will happen to their child, that he cannot survive on his own, that the child will always need the parents. They also motivate the child in this direction. They perceive university entrance as a crisis, a break. This is one of the only parental barriers to a young person starting university becoming an independent individual. Parents need to realize that their worries are not their child's. At this point, it is important for parents to express their feelings appropriately. It is necessary to convey the message that your leaving your family home is new and complex for us as well as for you, we will adapt to this situation together. Then, he should follow the process from the outside as much as possible, suppress his control impulses; young people should be there when they need it.”
