How well you are able to manage your emotions is directly related to the quality of the relationships in your life. The relationships you maintain and develop in college can have positive effects on your success. While you are making new friends, you continue to have relationships with your parents, spouse, children, or other family members. Sometimes the expectations of family members change, and negotiating such changes is not always easy. If you are fresh out of high school, you might feel that your parents still want to control your life. If you have a spouse or partner, going to college will give you a new identity that might seem strange or threatening to your partner. If you have children, they might not understand what’s going on as you try to balance your need for study time with their need for your undivided attention.

If your friends or others close to you also go to college, you will have a great deal to share and compare. But if your friends are not college students, they, too, might feel threatened as you take on a new identity. Romantic relationships can support you or can create major conflict and heartbreak, depending on whether your partner shares your feelings and whether the relationship is healthy or dysfunctional.