Brief Social Belonging Intervention for First-Year Students at a Land-Grant University: Does Modality Matter?

• In Event: 61.054 - Challenges and Opportunities: Exploring First-Generation College Students' Lived Experiences and Interventions to Support Their Success

Abstract

Objectives and Theoretical Framework
Students who are the first in their family to attend college face many challenges as they transition to college. Many first-generation (FG) college students lack a strong sense of belonging, which is needed to thrive (Stephens, Hamedani, & Destin, 2012). When students, particularly those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, feel a higher sense of belonging, they experience more positive college outcomes (Yeager et al., 2016). Social belonging interventions might help improve outcomes for those historically underrepresented in college (e.g., first-generation students); however, few studies have examined the psychosocial mechanisms behind their efficacy (Harackiewicz & Priniski, 2018). Nor have many investigators examined the differential effectiveness of intervention delivery modalities (e.g., reading passages, watching videos). The purpose of this study was to test the effects of a social belonging intervention for first-year students at a land grant university. We examined the effects of an intervention on students' academic (GPA, academic standing, retention) and psychological (sense of belonging) outcomes.

Methods
Participants were 2,744 first-year students attending a public, land-grant university in the southeastern U.S. (60.4% women; 69.6% White; 25.3% FG). Students enrolled in introductory communication courses were required to complete online survey assignments during the first, third (i.e., intervention), and fourteenth week of the fall 2017 semester and to complete a follow-up survey in April. Those who consented to sharing their academic records were included. We used stratified (by FG status and ethnicity) random sampling to assign students to either a written intervention (n = 889), a video intervention (n = 940), or a control condition (n = 915). The identically-worded intervention conditions featured previous students’ retrospective accounts of challenging, yet successful transitions to college. Participants completed a "saying-is-believing" assignment by responding to writing prompts (adapted from Yeager et al., 2016). Students (n = 33) who failed manipulation checks were excluded. Students responded to a three-item sense of belonging scale (Yeager et al., 2016) on all surveys (.92 ≤ α ≤ .98). ANOVA and chi square tests were used to investigate whether outcomes differed by intervention condition, FG status, or their interaction.

Results and Significance
ANOVA results indicated significant differences by intervention condition for the FG students. Specifically, FG students in the video condition had higher second semester and cumulative GPAs than did those in the control group. Students in the written condition did not differ from either group. Chi square tests revealed that FG students who received the video condition were most likely to be retained and in good academic standing, followed by those in the writing condition, and those in the control condition. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that FG students’ sense of belonging dropped significantly at each time point (i.e., baseline compared to immediately after intervention and immediately after intervention compared to end of year). FG students' lowered sense of belonging suggests that the intervention may influence other complex psychological processes that positively influence their academic outcomes. Research should look further into these processes that set FG students on a better trajectory for success (Walton & Brady, 2017). 

Authors

• Xiao-Yin Chen, University of Kentucky

• Ellen L. Usher, University of Kentucky

• Christia Spears Brown, University of Kentucky

• Calah Ford, University of Kentucky