Connecting students and families for support during the college transition.

ABSTRACTMy dissertation work focuses on increasing students' perceptions of family support as they adjust to college, a challenging and often stressful life transition. This project draws on research in social support, college transitions, emerging adulthood, and family communication as well as my background in computer science and communication studies. I will be designing, building, and evaluating a mobile application that connects new college students to their families. Specifically, the app I design will provide students with family awareness in order to remind them of their existing family support systems and increase their perceptions of family support while they are adjusting to college.