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“We Belong Here”: Identities, Family, Sense of Belonging, and Persistence in Latinx First-Generation College Students’ Educational Journeys

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Abstract

Schools often perceive Latinx youth as disengaged and even dangerous. However, they and their parents often have high educational aspirations and view college as the pathway to economic mobility. This mixed-methods cross-sectional study investigated the roles of sense of belonging at the university, ethnic-racial identity (ERI), perceptions of ERI discrimination, and family emotional support in first-generation (FG) college students’ academic self-efficacy and well-being, as indexed by depressive symptomatology. Multiple regression analyses showed that only sense of belonging at the university and the belonging subscale of ERI significantly predicted academic self-efficacy and depression symptomatology. However, the qualitative analyses revealed the importance of siblings for Latinx FG college students’ academic self-efficacy, mental health, and future career and life goals.

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Funding

This project was funded by a grant from the UC Consortium on Adolescence Science to the third author, Paul Hastings, Luis A. Parra, and Brittany D. Young and a grant from UCSC’s Committee on Research to the third author.

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  1. Psychology Department, SS2, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

    Andrew G. Takimoto, Paulette D. Garcia Peraza & Margarita Azmitia

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  1. Andrew G. Takimoto
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  2. Paulette D. Garcia Peraza
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  3. Margarita Azmitia
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Correspondence to Margarita Azmitia.

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Appendix. 1 Survey questions used in qualitative data analysis

Appendix. 1 Survey questions used in qualitative data analysis

1. Have you ever felt lost at (our university)?

2. Have you ever considered dropping out of (our university)? If yes, what do you do when you feel lost?

3. Do you have an adult or peer (it could be someone in your family, a friend, a counselor, a teacher, etc.) who you feel has shown you “the ropes” at college?

a. If yes, who is this person?

b. How long have you known this person?

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Takimoto, A.G., Garcia Peraza, P.D. & Azmitia, M. “We Belong Here”: Identities, Family, Sense of Belonging, and Persistence in Latinx First-Generation College Students’ Educational Journeys. ADV RES SCI 2, 303–314 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-021-00045-7

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