Document Type
Article
Source
American Journal of Community Psychology
ISSN
1573-2770
Volume
61
Issue
2018-03-04
First Page
386
Last Page
397
Publication Date
3-1-2018
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Attending college is increasingly important to compete in this global world; however, young people whose parents did not attend college are significantly less likely to enroll in and finish college. Formal programs to support first-generation college goers are common, but not scalable to provide support to all young people who need it. Instead, mentoring that naturally occurs on these students' journeys into and out of college may be a more practical avenue for supporting their success. This study investigated the role community members, relatives, and educators play in first-generation college goers' educational outcomes. Data from 4,181 participants of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health were used to test differences in supports received between first-generation, continuing-generation, and non-college goers. Results demonstrated that mentorship in adolescence moderated the relationship between parental college attendance and educational attainment in adulthood. Next, findings suggested that first-generation students received less support for identity development from their mentors than continuing-generation students. This study has program implications for facilitating college attendance and fostering the development and success of first-generation students. Moreover, this project continues to concretize an emerging taxonomy of mentoring functions for youth and emerging adults.
Rights
Copyright © Society for Community Research and Action 2018
Publisher Statement
"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Fruiht, V., & Chan, T. (2018). Naturally Occurring Mentorship in a National Sample of First‐Generation College Goers: A Promising Portal for Academic and Developmental Success. American journal of community psychology, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12233">10.1002/ajcp.12233. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions."
PubMed ID
29493799