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“I'm Having a Little Struggle With This, Can You Help Me Out?”: Examining Impacts and Processes of a Social Capital Intervention for First‐Generation College Students
Author(s) -
Schwartz Sarah E. O.,
Kanchewa Stella S.,
Rhodes Jean E.,
Gowdy Grace,
Stark Abigail M.,
Horn John Paul,
Parnes McKenna,
Spencer Renée
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1002/ajcp.12206
Subject(s) - social capital , health psychology , intervention (counseling) , context (archaeology) , psychology , medical education , first generation , social environment , public health , pedagogy , sociology , medicine , nursing , environmental health , paleontology , social science , population , psychiatry , biology
Social capital plays a key role in college and career success, and research indicates that a dearth of on‐campus connections contributes to challenges first‐generation college students face in effectively navigating the college environment. This study investigates a novel intervention that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes to empower first‐generation college students to cultivate social capital and on‐campus connections during the transition to college. A mixed methods, explanatory design was used to evaluate impacts and processes of the intervention among first‐generation college students ( n = 164) in the context of an ethnically diverse, urban, public university in the Northeast. Results indicated that students who participated in the intervention demonstrated improved attitudes and behaviors around seeking support in college, closer relationships with instructors, and higher GPAs at the end of their first year in college. These results suggest the potential benefits of a relatively scalable approach to supporting the needs of first‐generation college students.