DIGEST - Volume 9, Issue 2

3 TPC Digest Given that one aspect of the counselor identity is the use of evidence-supported assessment practices and another is evidence- supported intervention and programming, there is a call to complete activities to support the actions of Ghanaian mental health professionals charged with promoting adjustment among local university students. The Inventory of New College Student Adjustment (INCA) is one viable instrument for assessing college student adjustment that is free to use and has been identified as a resource to help determine the appropriate support services needed for university students, as well as a resource to assess the overall effectiveness of campus initiatives focused on student adjustment. Although the INCA has been validated using a college student population in the United States, this study evaluated the validity evidence for the INCA using a Ghanaian college student population with the hope that the instrument could be used by mental health professionals working in Ghanaian universities. The findings revealed that scores on the INCA demonstrated a high degree of validity based on internal structure and relations with similar constructs. Consequently, this may be a viable psychometric assessment for a Ghanaian college student population, and it has the potential to contribute to evidence-supported practices for strengthening optimal development and adjustment among students at Ghanaian universities. It is plausible that the INCA can be used by Ghanaian university personnel to assess student adjustment, make any necessary changes to student affairs programming to improve the adjustment experiences of their college students, identify first year students who are struggling to adjust to university life, and develop proactive strategies to support struggling students. Danielle Pester is a doctoral student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. A. Stephen Lenz is an associate professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Joshua C. Watson, NCC, is a professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Julia Dell’Aquila is a doctoral student at Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi. Anthony Nkyi is a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast. Correspondence can be addressed to Danielle Pester, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, danielle.pester@tamucc.edu. Read full article and references: Pester, D., Lenz, A. S., Watson, J. C., Dell’Aquila, J., & Nyki, A. (2018). Evidence for use of a psychometric Inventory of New College Student Adjustment with Ghanaian students: Implications for the professional globalization of counseling. The Professional Counselor , 8 , 11–20. doi: 10.15241/dp.8.1.11 Read full article and references: Katz, J. (2019). Supporting women coping with emotional distress after abortion. The Professional Counselor , 9 , 100–108. doi : 10.15241/jk.9.2.100 3 |