Social Support, Stress, and Hispanic College Adjustment: Test of a Diathesis-Stress Model

A diathesis-stress model of Hispanic college adjustment was tested to assess the relationship between cultural pride, social support, stress, and college adjustment. A total of 394 Mexican American and Latino American freshman and sophomore students responded to a survey (57% response rate). Results indicated that academic stress, social stress, and perceived availability of social support combined to account for 59% of the variance in college adjustment ratings. However, the diathesis-stress model was not supported because social support was not found to moderate the relationship between stress and adjustment.