title: Do I belong?: it depends on when you ask.
abstract: A feeling of belonging to an academic context is a critical determinant of academic achievement and persistence, particularly for students of color. Despite the fact that students of color are generally more susceptible to fluctuations in belonging uncertainty than White students, survey design can unintentionally mask this reality. We investigated whether context effects undermine the accurate assessment of belonging uncertainty in junior high and high school students (Study 1) and college students (Study 2). Considering one's ethnic identification (Study 1) and personal experiences with discrimination (Study 2) threatens sense of belonging in students of color, but not White students. Researchers should consider question order within surveys so as not to artificially mask belonging uncertainty in students of color.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Loyola University, Chicago, USA. rmallett@luc.edu
authors.forename: Robyn K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Mallett
authors.forename: Zena R
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Mello
authors.forename: Dana E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Worrell
authors.forename: Risë Nelson
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Burrow
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Andretta
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D011822:Race Relations; D012574:Schools; D012933:Social Identification; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D035501:Uncertainty; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult