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Christiaan Huygensstraat 44, Zipcode:7533XB, Enschede, THE NETHERLANDS
Research Article

Self-Efficacy Buffers Against Belonging Loss for Hispanic Students During the First Semester of College

Maxim Kim , Jennifer Henderlong Corpus

Hispanic college students typically report a lower sense of belonging than their White peers, citing challenges related to first generation student st.

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Hispanic college students typically report a lower sense of belonging than their White peers, citing challenges related to first generation student status, low-income family backgrounds, and academic underpreparedness. The present study asked whether Hispanic students would have a lower sense of belonging than non-Hispanic White students and whether academic self-efficacy would be able to provide a greater buffer against belonging loss for Hispanic students compared to their non-Hispanic White peers. The participants of this study were Hispanic (n = 68) and non-Hispanic White (n = 420) first year students at a predominantly White small liberal arts college. Academic self-efficacy was a significant predictor of change in belonging for Hispanic students but not for non-Hispanic White students. These results suggest academic self-efficacy is a worthwhile target of belonging interventions for Hispanic students.  

Keywords: Academic self-efficacy, college transition, first-generation student, sense of belonging.

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