Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.)
Department
Counseling and School Psychology
First Advisor
Justin Low
First Committee Member
Eunie Jung
Second Committee Member
Kimberlee DeRushia
Abstract
Students who hold marginalized social identities report experiencing a lower sense of belonging at their institutions of higher education than their peers. A low sense of belonging has in turn been linked to lower academic performance, lower scores on mental health and well-being measures, and lower rates of degree completion. Utilizing a mixed method approach, this researcher examines the experiences of students who participated in a social identity-based support group intervention intended to improve the sense of belonging of students who hold marginalized social identities. Eight university students participated in the support group intervention over the course of one academic term and completed surveys measuring their levels of interpersonal connectedness and sense of belonging pre- and post-intervention. Following the conclusion of the intervention, participants completed semi-structured interviews with this researcher to expand on their experiences in the support group intervention and at their university. Results from dependent samples t-tests fail to demonstrate an increase in participants’ levels of interpersonal connectedness or sense of belonging at their university following their participation in the support group intervention. Qualitative findings indicate that there was a range of impact that participation in the intervention had on participants’ sense of belonging at the university, ranging from a neutral to strong positive impact. A thematic analysis of additional qualitative data revealed which elements of the intervention participants regarded as being particularly impactful. The social identity-based support group intervention described in this study provides one possible framework for how such an intervention can be designed, implemented, and evaluated.
Pages
153
Recommended Citation
Patel, Jasmine D. (2026). Exploring the Impact of Social Identity-Based Support Groups on Students' Sense of Belonging in Higher Education. University of the Pacific, Dissertation. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/4332
