title: First-generation college students and U.S. citizens: is the university perceived like family or strangers?
abstract: We examined school sense of community (SSOC) between university students who are first-generation U.S. citizens (n = 936) or students who are non-first-generation U.S. citizens (n = 3,556), and between first-generation college students (n = 1,114) and students who are non-first-generation college students (n = 3,378), both attending an urban and diverse Roman Catholic university. Participants reported their SSOC and whether the school was innovative and inclusive, examining whether a higher sense of school community and positive notions of one's campus mission related to being a first-generation U.S. citizen or a first-generation college student. Results showed that a lack of belongingness may lead to lower academic achievement, school dropouts, and less school involvement. Future research should explore why there is a differing impact on school sense of community and campus mission perception for students who are first-generation U.S. citizens or first-generation college students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois 60614, USA.
authors.forename: Shannon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Vicky S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Karahalios
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ferrari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002410:Catholicism; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D012933:Social Identification; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult