Peer socialization agents (PSAs; e.g., resident assistants, orientation leaders) are trained to facilitate belonging through formal socialization initiatives. We used secondary qualitative data analysis, in combination with a critical constructivist approach, to explore PSAs' sense of belonging and the contexts in which they experience it through…

Fraternal organizations have often received criticism from individuals who argue that these groups perpetuate harmful gendered norms and oppress members who identify with queer communities. However, scholars and practitioners alike have paid little attention to members who identify as bisexual/pansexual (bi/pan) within these organizations. This…

Higher education researchers have defined the need of feeling connected to a place or community as a sense of belonging or a student's ability to connect to campus through support systems, positive interactions, and mattering (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Strayhorn, 2012). A student belonging to or within an institution has been associated with…

In the wake of highly visible institutionalized anti-Black violence, this study examined how sense of belonging manifests among Black students at historically white colleges. The findings speak to the need to expand upon the conceptualization of sense of belonging for Black students, particularly considering the history of racial trauma in the…

First-year university students encounter considerable academic stress, possibly resulting in mental health problems. Although studies have illustrated the academic and health benefits of sense of belonging, few studies have focused on its role in the relationship between academic stress and mental health complaints. The current study used…

Study abroad participation for US college students has been on the rise throughout the past two decades. As more US students study abroad, it is necessary to continue to explore the learning and developmental outcomes associated with these experiences and the reasons students choose to study abroad. With the increase of study abroad participation,…

Feeling a part of a university community is an important factor in college students' success, yet little is known about how transfer students construct a sense of community at their new institutions. Drawing from surveys and interviews of transfer students at a highly selective university, we used a multi-method approach to understand the elements…

Given that paid internships often lead to higher paying positions postgraduation and that women continue to earn less than men for the same position despite their level of education (Women's Bureau, 2017), the authors were interested to understand whether women and other underserved groups were more or less likely to participate in paid or unpaid…

Responses from 604 Native American undergraduates to the 2015 administration of the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) survey were examined to determine the effects of involvement in culturally based organizations, collective racial esteem, and being mentored by someone on campus on perceptions of a belonging campus climate and a…

While scholars have noted the levels of educational attainment of Hmong Americans compared to East Asian Americans as well as the overall population, this focus has undermined the achievements of Hmong Americans. To shift the discourse on Hmong American students and provide a liberatory perspective, I examined the student-initiated organizing…

Guided by Astin's I-E-O model and critical quantitative inquiry, we examined institutional environments that contributed to belongingness, especially for students from different racial groups, college generation statuses, and the intersection of both. Using multiple linear regression analyses, we analyzed data from 7,888 students and found that…

Despite considerable debate about the effects of fraternities and sororities on college campuses, the extent to which these organizations promote or detract from student success is unclear. Therefore, we used propensity score analyses to examine the link between membership in a social fraternity or sorority and several student success outcomes.…

Higher education research suggests that the development of a sense of belonging is key to academic success and persistence, yet we know little about how first-year students with disabilities develop a sense of belonging as they transition into and through their first year in postsecondary environments. Themes from a grounded theory study of 8…

Institutional belonging has been connected in the literature to college student well-being, achievement, persistence, and retention. However, much of this literature uses a one-dimensional scale to examine this construct. The University Attachment Scale (UAS; France, Finney, & Swerdzewski, 2010) is a multidimensional instrument with purported…

This study examines correlates that contribute to sexually aggressive attitudes toward women. Using a sample that includes 217 college males from 3 southern universities, the study evaluates the relationship between college men's hypermasculine and sexually aggressive attitudes, as well as how fraternity membership and disinhibition moderate this…