Humor, loneliness and acceptance: Predictors of university drop-out intentions

College retention is a growing problem in higher education. This study was conducted to figure out the university students' drop out intentions and its relation with sense of school membership, loneliness and coping strategies. 164 university students (125 female and 39 male) with mean age of 21.67 participated in the study. Regression analysis revealed that the intention to drop out the university was better predicted by non-academic factors. Grade level, acceptance dimension of sense of school membership,loneliness and use of humor as a coping strategy significantly predicted the intention to drop out the university. CGPA, global satisfaction level of being a university student, and two dimensions of sense of school membership;rejection and belongingness were not significant in predicting the university drop out intention. The results were discussed in the light of related literature and implications to practice were suggested. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.