The integration of non-local students into their host environments and their ability to develop meaningful local relationships are concerns for researchers, educators, and policymakers. Given the increased diversity of higher educational settings, a deeper understanding of these topics can help residential halls better accommodate students from…

The benefits of living in residence halls have attracted increasing attention, yet it remains uncertain which particular aspects (academic performance, interpersonal outcomes, or personal development) students perceive as most beneficial from their residential experience. The present study examined the relative strength of the aforementioned…

This article reports on the peer socialization of gendered Mandarin practices between three American students and their Chinese roommates in a college dorm in China. Gender is often perceived to be a salient identity category among adult L2 learners overseas. Drawing on the language socialization framework (Ochs and Schieffelin 1984), this study…

Building upon conceptualisations of the sexualisation of space, this paper interrogates the ways in which heterosexual discourses are produced, enforced, legitimised and maintained as dominant within student accommodation. Analysis is derived from interviews with 17 gay male undergraduates attending a UK institution. I detail the micro-level…

Describes factors affecting the development of mutuality of attraction in natural small groups, and tests the hypothesis of the acquaintance process in 41 female residents of three floors of a university dormitory over the course of a year. Two floors showed definite increases in dyadic mutuality over time. (JAC)