Journal Article

A Brief Social-Belonging Intervention Improves Academic and Health Outcomes of Minority Students

Cohen, Geoffrey L., Walton, Gregory M.

2011

Overview

A brief intervention aimed at buttressing college freshmen's sense of social belonging in school was tested in a randomized controlled trial (N = 92), and its academic and health-related consequences over 3 years are reported. The intervention aimed to lessen psychological perceptions of threat on campus by framing social adversity as common and transient. It used subtle attitude-change strategies to lead participants to self-generate the intervention message. The intervention was expected to be particularly beneficial to African-American students (N = 49), a stereotyped and socially marginalized group in academics, and less so to European-American students (N = 43). Consistent with these expectations, over the 3-year observation period the intervention raised African Americans' grade-point average (GPA) relative to multiple control groups and halved the minority achievement gap. This performance boost was mediated by the effect of the intervention on subjective construal: It prevented students from seeing adversity on campus as an indictment of their belonging. Additionally, the intervention improved African Americans' self-reported health and well-being and reduced their reported number of doctor visits 3 years postintervention. Senior-year surveys indicated no awareness among participants of the intervention's impact. The results suggest that social belonging is a psychological lever where targeted intervention can have broad consequences that lessen inequalities in achievement and health.

• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science,The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subject: Academic achievement / Achievement / Adjustment / African Americans / African Americans - psychology / Biological and medical sciences / Change Strategies / Control Groups / Education / Educational Measurement / Educational psychology / European Continental Ancestry Group / Female / Framing / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / Grade point average / Happiness / Health / Health outcomes / Health Status / Humans / Intervention / Levers / Male / Messages / Minorities / minorities (people) / Minority & ethnic groups / Minority group students / Minority Groups / Minority Groups - psychology / Minority students / Perception / Psychoeducational intervention / Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry / Psychology. Psychophysiology / Pupil and student. Academic achievement and failure / randomized clinical trials / Randomized Controlled Trials / School campuses / Self reports / Social Adjustment / Social Desirability / Social Isolation / Social networks / Social Perception / Social psychology / Strategy / Students / Students - psychology / surveys / Well being / Wellbeing