Introduction The transition from high school to college in American society presents not only potentially stressful demands but also stimulating opportunities for the adolescent to master certain tasks that are significant for his personal growth. These tasks may vary in salience and specificity in different contemporary cultures, but they are universally shaped by the functional requirements of maturation and socialization in human development. In American culture, the college experience is valued, especially by the urban middle-class family, as an opportunity for youth to learn new social roles and skills that will prepare them for the responsibilities of adult life.1 The present study is part of an NIMH exploratory investigation of the transition from high school to college. Previous reports from this larger study discussed how competent adolescents deal with various tasks that are important in this phase of development.2-5These tasks include: