Latent Structure and Measurement Invariance of a Measure of Sense of College Belonging

• In Event: AERA Virtual Poster Session 5
  In Poster Session: General Counseling Topics

Abstract

The Sense of Social and Academic Fit instrument [1] is used to assess college belonging among undergraduates. To date, the instrument’s latent factor structure and measurement invariance properties have not been reported in the published literature. We examined the scale’s factor structure and measurement invariance across race/ethnicity, gender, and social class. Results revealed a four-factor model with the following latent factors: Institutional Belonging, Cultural Match, Social Acceptance, and Social Capital. Additional analyses suggested that Institutional Belonging may be used as a brief measure of general college belonging. This brief measure demonstrated appealing measurement invariance properties and validity in an independent dataset. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Authors

• Amir H. Maghsoodi, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Nidia Ruedas-Gracia, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign