The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 46, No. 1 - 19

Peer Belonging and Institutional Acceptance

that, for first-year students, living

acceptance than did their classmates living
on campus (walking distance: B = -.09, p < .01;
driving distance: B = -.11, p < .01).

with one or more roommates has

Student Demographics

a higher positive impact on their

All of the student characteristics had a statistically significant effect in at least one of the
models, with the exception of gender. Firstgeneration students seemed to have a less
positive perception of their peer belonging
than did their socially advantaged counterparts
(first-year: B = -.15, p < .001; senior: B = -.05,
p < .05). For first-year students, this pattern
is also observed for institutional acceptance
(B = -.06, p < .05). In addition, both first-year
and senior students of color were significantly
less likely than White students to feel strong
peer belonging (first-year: B ranging from -.14
to -.22, p < .001; senior: B ranging from -.13 to
-.20, p ranging from <.05 to <.001). This disparity was largest in peer belonging for firstyear students. In contrast, African American
students reported higher levels of institutional
acceptance than did their White counterparts
(first-year: B = .09, p < .05; senior: B = .22, p <
.001). No other racial/ethnic differences were
found in institutional acceptance. While traditional age seniors reported higher levels of
peer belonging than did their non-traditional
peers (B = .13, p < .001), traditional age firstyear students reported lower institutional acceptance (B = -.22, p < .01).

The results from this study suggest

feelings of peer belonging than
living on campus does. This finding
is consistent for seniors as well.

to living situation, which was the focus of our
study, our findings indicate that student demographics, college experiences, and institutional
characteristics played an important role in students' level of peer belonging and institutional
acceptance.

Living Situation
Results suggested that where and with whom
students live impacted their feelings of peer
belonging and institutional acceptance, even
after controlling for all of the previously mentioned characteristics. Perhaps not surprisingly, those students living with roommates
reported higher levels of peer belonging than
did their counterparts living alone (first-year: B
= .29, p < .001; senior: B = .23, p < .001). Firstyear students living farther than walking distance (within driving distance) from campus
reported lower levels of peer belonging than
did those living on campus (B = -.19, p < .01).
In contrast, seniors who lived within walking
distance felt higher levels of peer belonging
than did their on-campus counterparts (B =
.12, p < .001). Finally, off-campus seniors who
lived within walking or driving distance from
campus reported lower levels of institutional

College Experiences
Three of the five college experiences were statistically significant in one of the four models,
with both membership in a fraternity or sorority and earned college grades having an impact
in every model. In particular, for both first-year
and senior students, lower grades tended to

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 46, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 46, No. 1
