Impact of first-generation status, living in an LCC, and campus club involvement on sense of belonging in the first semester

Abstract

To determine if first-generation status, living in an LLC, and campus club involvement affect students’ sense of belonging in their first semester of college, the researchers surveyed first-year college students enrolled at a large, public research institution during their first semester. Multiple regression analyses found campus club involvement to be a significant predictor of sense of belonging on all four subscales of the Sense of Belonging Scale: perceived peer support, perceived classroom comfort, perceived isolation, and perceived faculty support. Living in an LLC was also found to be a significant predictor of perceived peer support, but not in perceived classroom comfort, perceived isolation, or perceived faculty support. First-generation status did not emerge as a significant predictor for any of the four areas of sense of belonging. Findings revealed the significant role campus involvement has on college students’ sense of belonging in the first semester.