CORNELL DUBOSE. Understanding the Influence of Socialization Sources During the Adaptation to the College Experience. (Under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Stearns)Every year in the United States, thousands of young adults start their college careers and begin the process of adapting to the college experience. This process of adaptation includes navigating the influence of different socialization sources. While previous studies have focused on how primary or secondary socialization influences new college students, few studies have focused on how the intersectionality of different sources of socialization influences new college students. For this exploratory study, I interviewed 7 undergraduate students attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and inquired about their social experiences in college to that point. Using qualitative methods, I discovered 6 relevant themes that led to the emergence of 3 categories that detailed how primary socialization, secondary socialization, and the participant’s self-concept influenced the tactics the participants employed to navigate their social environments. simultaneously Analyzing these categories helped to uncover Perceived Social Self Efficacy (PSSE) as the prevalent theory for this study. PSSE describes the process of individuals becoming confident in their ability to make decisions about social situations based on their prior social experiences. Findings from this research study have the potential to give insights on what influences the behaviors of young adults as they adapt to the college experience. These insights can further explain the influence of negative social situations such as peer pressure.