31st Annual Student Research Conference
Personality and Social Belongingness in Relation to Academic Success in African-American College Students
Marquita D. Cooper
Dr. Yuna L. Ferguson, Faculty Mentor
Understanding factors that encourage success in African-American college students is crucial for fostering their academic achievement and sense of well-being. This study examines personality, coping style, and sense of belongingness as predictors of academic achievement at historically Black colleges or universities (HBCUs) and at predominately White institutions (PWIs). The study hypothesizes that 1) African-American students who attend HBCUs will report a higher sense of belonging than their counterparts at PWIs and 2) sense of belonging, trait conscientiousness, and tendency to use active coping will positively predict academic motivation and achievement. A survey including the academic self-efficacy scale, the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, the Brief COPE scale, and a question about their cumulative GPA will be administered. The current study contributes to the existing literature by adding recent research which may be applicable to the current population of African-American students.
Keywords: African-Americans, predominately White instiutions, Historically Black colleges, personality, academic success, coping, social belongingness, college students
Topic(s):Psychology
African-American Studies
Education
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 406-2
Location: MG 2090
Time: 2:45