The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 46, No. 1 - 22

Amber D. Dumford, Amy K. Ribera, Angie L. Miller

dition, the findings that racial/ethnic minorities report lower levels of peer belonging when
compared to their White counterparts support
the findings of previous literature (Hurtado,
1994; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Johnson et al.,
2007; Read et al., 2003).

For those students who opt to live

Although this study included several different institutional-level characteristics as
control variables in the models, future research could explore the geographic locale of
colleges and universities. Institutions located
in urban areas might have more enticing
off-campus options for students, especially
upper-level students, as compared to those in
more rural settings. The volume of on-campus housing needs is in turn influenced by
these residential patterns and availabilities.
Furthermore, in traditional college towns
there are generally neighborhoods, while not
officially campus property, that are composed
primarily of students and offer a community atmosphere similar to what one might
find in a residence hall. The boom in private
housing complexes immediately adjacent
to campus, which have different amenities
than those that can be found in on-campus
housing, creates another housing option for
students to consider. However, in very dense
urban areas or sparsely populated rural ones,
this type of atmosphere may be more difficult
to replicate off campus. Additional research
should further explore how these particular
elements could influence strengths and weaknesses of various student living situations.

students feel connected to campus

More research is also needed to further
explore some of the situational distinctions
that may play a role in the present findings.
While this study looked at the types of roommates that a student had, the specific number
22

off campus, administrators should
consider creating programming in
local communities to make sure that
and the larger student community.
There is a long tradition of the town
and gown rivalry, but there is also
the potential for a more symbiotic
relationship with mutual benefits for
the university and the surrounding
community.

of roommates might have a nuanced effect on
peer belonging and warrants exploration. Additionally, the result of MSI attendance having
a negative impact on peer belonging may actually be due to the racial makeup of the overall
sample and the relatively small percentage of
MSIs included. Since there are larger numbers
of minority students attending these institutions, while at most other institutions they
are underrepresented, the negative effect on
peer belonging for minority students at predominantly White colleges and universities
may be washing over into this element of the
model. To further investigate this potential interaction effect, future research might involve
replicating the models with different racial
sub-groups.

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING

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