ERIC Number: EJ1390297
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0729-4360
EISSN: EISSN-1469-8366
College Students' Sense of Belonging in Times of Disruption: Prospective Changes from before to during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Higher Education Research and Development, v42 n6 p1309-1322 2023
The current study examined whether college students' sense of belonging changed following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 252 (66.7% female) first- and second-year college students at a large public university in the United States. It was hypothesized that students would report a decrease in their sense of belonging from before to during the pandemic. It was also hypothesized that female students and racial-ethnic minority students, respectively, would report steeper declines in their sense of belonging compared to their male peers and to their White, non-Hispanic peers. Repeated-measures data were analyzed using a multilevel modeling framework to test for mean differences in students' levels of belonging from pre-COVID to during-COVID periods. No direct change in students' sense of belonging was detected. Moderation results indicated that sense of belonging decreased significantly over time for racial-ethnic minority students but not for White, non-Hispanic students. The findings encourage higher education researchers and practitioners to consider the unique experiences of racial-ethnic minority college students during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Descriptors: College Students, Sense of Community, Student Attitudes, COVID-19, Pandemics, Gender Differences, Racial Differences
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: Researchers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (DHHS/PHS)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01DA042093