Semakin banyak individu yang meneruskan pendidikan ke perguruan tinggi dan tentunya memasuki perguruan tinggi memiliki tantangan akademis tersendiri. Tantangan tersebut dapat menjadi sumber distres psikologis yang berpotensi menghambat penyesuaian akademis mahasiswa. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat peran perceived social support pada hubungan antara distres psikologis dan penyesuaian akademis. Partisipan dalam penelitian ini merupakan mahasiswa tahun pertama yang memiliki rentang usia 18-22 tahun (N = 414). Analisis moderasi dilakukan dengan menggunakan Hayes' PROCESS. The Kessler 10-item questionnaire (K10), The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), dan Student Adjustment to College Questionairre (SACQ) digunakan untuk mengukur distres psikologis, perceived social support, dan penyesuaian akademis. Hasil penelitian menemukan bahwa distres psikologis memiliki hubungan negatif yang signifikan dengan penyesuaian akademis. Perceived social support dari teman ditemukan memoderasi hubungan antara distres psikologis dan penyesuaian akademis namun hal yang sama tidak ditemukan pada perceived social support dari keluarga dan significant others. Dengan demikian, membangun jaringan sosial dengan teman di perguruan tinggi dapat meningkatkan penyesuaian akademis mahasiswa baru.

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Pursuing a higher education becomes increasingly popular however, entering university comes with its own academic challenges which can be a source of psychological distress that can potentially hinder students academic adjustment. This study aims to examine the role of perceived social support in moderating the relationship between psychological distress and academic adjustment. The respondents of this study are 414 first-year college students between the ages of 18 to 22 year old. To examine the moderating role of perceived social support, Hayes' PROCESS was used. The Kessler-10 Item Questionnaire (K10), The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ) were used to measure psychological distress, perceived social support, and academic adjustment respectively. The results of this study show that psychological distress has a significant correlation with academic adjustment. Moreover, overall perceived social support does not moderate the relationship between the two variables. Conversely, perceived friends support is found to moderate the relationship between psychological distress and academic adjustment however, the same result was not found for perceived family and significant others support. The results imply that building peer network in university holds a significant role in first-year students' academic adjustment.