Sense of belonging and academic persistence among undergraduate university students: The chain mediation effect of emotional and academic adjustment

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence, as mediated by emotional and academic adjustment. A total of 955 South African undergraduate students were participants (female = 71.7%; black = 44.8%; mean age = 27.80 years, SD = 7.65 years). They completed surveys on sense of belonging, emotional adjustment, academic adjustment, and academic persistence. Mediation analysis results showed that a sense of belonging significantly predicted academic persistence. Furthermore, emotional and academic adjustment independently and significantly mediated the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence, for higher academic persistence. The results further showed that emotional and academic adjustment played a significant chain mediation role in the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence. From these findings, we conclude that sense of belonging influences academic persistence through emotional and academic adjustment. These results suggest the need for university programmes to foster academic persistence in students by being supportive of their sense of belonging and providing resources for emotional and academic adjustment.

Keywords:

• academic success
• education
• higher learning
• psychological
• support
• well-being

Introduction

A lack of academic persistence among undergraduate students poses a challenge for higher education and raises concerns about dropout rates (Xavier & Meneses, 2022). Those with a lower sense of belonging would be more vulnerable (Strayhorn, 2012, 2019) and prone to emotional and academic maladjustment (Jain & Sharma, 2022; Ostrove & Long, 2007). However, these relationships are less certain in the context of developing country higher education settings with their marginal resources and culturally diverse student population, many of whom would be first generation college students in their families. The researcher aimed to explore how emotional and academic adjustment would mediate the relationships between students' sense belonging and academic persistence in the South African context.

Conceptually, emotional adjustment is defined as the "state of accepting and adapting to one's circumstances, which may necessitate the changing of attitudes and the appropriate expression of emotions in a certain context" (Arjun & Dakshinamurthy, 2022, p. 5 011). It entails maintaining emotional equilibrium when faced by stressors (Richard & Sumathi, 2015). Academic adjustment is considered as students' ability to cope with numerous academic demands, demonstrating a positive attitude towards academic work and goals, and motivation to meet academic requirements (Baker & Siryk, 1984).

Sense of belonging and academic persistence

Sense of belonging is regarded as a subjective feeling of mattering, being cared for, being part of, having mutual, and psychological connectedness to others. Academically, it refers to students' feelings of being accepted, respected, supported, connected, and integrated with others in the institutional context (Gillen-O'Neel, 2021; Goodenow, 1993). Research links a sense of belonging to academic persistence. For instance, Thomas and colleagues (2014) opine that fostering a sense of belonging among students could improve their persistence. This is because students with a sense of belonging tend to put more effort into their academic work and show continued engagement in their academic activities (Zumbrunn et al., 2014). Gillen-O'Neel (2021) and Sithaldeen and colleagues (2022) indicated that a sense of belonging could help students overcome academic challenges and minimise non-completion rates. Other scholars also demonstrated that belongingness is an important predictor of academic persistence (Crawford et al., 2023).

Academic persistence is conceptualised as students' ability to remain emolled in a course despite personal or academic challenges (Brown et al., 2022). It refers to the resilience to stay on a course to completion. Several studies showed that a sense of belonging significantly predicted academic persistence (Hansen et al., 2023; Hausmann et al., 2007; Strayhorn, 2020), while also engendering psychological well-being or reducing distress among students (Strayhorn, 2012). On the other hand, a lack of a sense of belonging reportedly contributed to psychological distress, persistence problems, and dropout intentions (Hahne & Zander, 2019; Strayhorn, 2012). Hence, the capacity to develop a sense of belonging is recognised as a critical aspect for the persistence of students (O'Keeffe, 2013). While there is some evidence of studies that investigated the association between sense of belonging and academic persistence (Hausmann et al., 2009; Mtshweni, 2022b; Strayhorn, 2020), it remains unclear how this relationship is influenced by emotional and academic adjustment.

Mediating role of emotional and academic adjustment

Transitioning and adapting to the university experience can be stressful and cause emotional and adjustment problems for undergraduate students (Nyamayaro & Saravanan, 2013). Emotional adjustment aids with overall academic functioning and the ability to cope with academic demands (Baker & Siryk, 1999). Adams (2017) also identified emotional adjustment as a key component that enables students to thrive and meet academic demands during their studies. A close relationship exists between emotional and academic adjustment. For example, emotional adjustment was found to be positively and significantly associated with academic adjustment (Hazan Liran & Miller, 2019; Sekar & Lawrence, 2016), suggesting that the more emotionally adjusted students felt in their institution, the better they could cope with academic demands, or the better they were academically adjusted. To this effect, research showed that emotional adjustment significantly predicted academic adjustment (Mittelmeier et al., 2019), while emotional adjustment traits had a significant influence on academic adjustment (Tamannaeifar & Rezaei, 2020).

Academic adjustment is a key determinant of students' academic success (Hassan et al., 2023). Obi (2012, p. 54) posits that "a successful academic adjustment of students to (the) university environment enables them to complete their studies". Most students enter higher-education institutions and persist to completion, because academic adjustment prevents them from dropping out (Cazan et al., 2023). Silinda (2018) showed that academic adjustment was significantly related to and predicted academic persistence. Whereas academic adjustment is important for persistence, its absence could have deleterious consequences for students' academic success. For example, academic maladjustment was found to be associated with dropout intentions (Cazan et al., 2023), while academic adjustment difficulties contributed to a lack of fulfilment and a greater risk of dropping out.

Thus far, it is evident that students need to develop a sense of belonging and adjust emotionally and academically to persist in their studies. This study examined the direct effects of a sense of belonging on academic persistence and the potential mediating effects of emotional and academic adjustment.

The South African context

The South African higher education system is characterised by historical disadvantages, with most students coming from poor socioeconomic backgrounds and families without an educational background (Van Zyl, 2010). This is so because of the history of apartheid, which was characterised by economic and academic exclusions for most of the population groups (Mtshweni, 2022a; Mzangwa, 2019). While access and participation in the institutions of higher learning has increased reasonably among the general population, some students continue to face historical challenges that emanate from the exclusionary policies of the apartheid system (Mtshweni, 2022a). This includes, for example, institutional integration problems and untransformed institutional cultures that make it difficult for students to find a sense of belonging in the institutional context (Hlatshwayo, 2020; Mugume, 2023; Otu & Mkhize; 2018).

While research shows that belonging problems emanate from systemic challenges (Hlatshwayo, 2020; Otu & Mkhize; 2018), additional studies showed that South African institutions of higher learning cater to a diverse student population in terms of gender, culture, language, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, which makes it difficult for students to find commonality, integration, and belongingness (LeRoux & Groenewald, 2021; Sithaldeen et al., 2022). LeRoux and Groenewald (2021) argued that the development of a sense of belonging in South African institutions of higher learning remains elusive due to diverse factors, such as background characteristics, which determine students' inclusion and exclusion in the learning community. This suggests a need for institutions of higher learning to strengthen mechanisms for cultivating a sense of belonging, since it is critical for boosting academic persistence. Tinto (2017) posited that to ensure academic persistence and the completion of qualifications, students need to be engaged and made to feel that they matter and belong as members of the student community, irrespective of their varying background characteristics.

Goal of the study

The study examined the effects of a sense of belonging on academic persistence among undergraduate students, considering the independent and combined mediational effects of emotional and academic adjustment. This means that a combination of simple and chain mediation was tested. Figure 1 shows the hypothesised chain mediation model for the study. The following hypotheses were tested in the study:

Figure 1: Hypothesised chain mediation model

H1: Sense of belonging significantly predicts academic persistence.

H2: Emotional adjustment significantly mediates the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence.

H3: Academic adjustment significantly mediates the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence.

H4: There is a significant chain mediation effect of emotional adjustment and academic adjustment on the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence.

Methods

Participants and setting

A total of 955 undergraduate student participants from a South African university were recruited using a convenience sampling method. The sample comprised 685 (71.7%) females, 268 (28.1%) males, and 2 (0.2%) other participants who wished not to disclose their gender. The age range was between 18 and 63 (mean = 28.16 years, SD = 7.75 years). Table 1 shows the demographic characteristics of the participants.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of participants (n = 955)

Measures

The participants completed the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM: Goodenow, 1993), the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ: Baker & Siryk, 1999), and the College Persistence Questionnaire (CPQ: Davidson et al., 2009). They also reported their demographic characteristics of age, gender, and year of study.

Sense of belonging

The PSSM scale used in this study comprises 10 items for assessing students' levels of sense of belonging in their learning context. The scale consists of items such as "I feel proud to belong to my university" and "I feel like a part of my university". Responses were rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 = not at all true, to 5 = completely true. In the present study, the Cronbach's alpha for scores from the PSSM scale was 0.85.

Emotional adjustment

The SACQ's 14-item subscale was used to measure students' emotional adjustment to the university. The subscale consists of items such as "I have been nervous lately" and "I have not been able to control my emotions very well lately". The items were scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 = strongly disagree, to 5 =strongly agree. In the present study, the Cronbach's alpha for scores from the SACQ's emotional adjustment subscale was 0.87.

Academic adjustment

The SACQ's 2-item subscale assessed students' academic adjustment to the university. The researcher removed three items because of low factor loadings. This subscale consisted of the sample items "My academic goals are well defined" and "Getting a university degree is important to me". The items were rated using a 5-point Likert scale that ranged from 1 = strongly disagree, to 5 = strongly agree. In the present study, the Cronbach's alpha for scores from the SACQ's academic adjustment subscale was 0.76.

Academic persistence

The CPQ included seven items that were used to measure academic persistence in this study. The sample items included “How likely is it that you will re-register at this university next semester?” and “How likely is it that you will earn a degree from this university?”. The items were scored on a 5-point Likert scale with options ranging from 1 = very unlikely, to 5 = very likely. In the present study, the Cronbach’s alpha for scores from the CPQ was found to be 0.67.

Procedure

The University of South Africa Department of Psychology Ethics Review Committee (Ref: PERC-17039) and College of Human Sciences' Ethics Review Committee (Ref: 2018CHS-020) approved the study. The participants signed an electronic consent form and were guaranteed confidentiality and anonymity. The data-collection tools were prepared in SurveyMonkey. The survey included an information sheet stating the purpose of the study.

Data analysis

The data were analysed using the IBM SPSS version 28.0. The PROCESS macro was used to test for mediational effects (Hayes, 2013). Specifically, Hayes’ models 4 and 6 were used to test for simple and chain mediation effects, respectively. Simple mediation implies that a change in X leads to a change in M (path a) and that a change in M leads to a change in Y (path b) – (X → M → Y) (Demming et al., 2017). Chain mediation comprises one independent variable (X), one outcome variable (Y), and two mediators that are sequentially related (M₁) and (M₂) – (X → M₁ → M₂ → Y) (Tofighi & Kelley, 2020). The researcher followed the guidelines of Preacher and colleagues (2007) to test for mediation using indirect effects and bootstrapping analysis. The bootstrap samples were set at 5 000 and the statistical significance of the mediating effects at 95% confidence intervals (CI) (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). The mediation effect would be confirmed if the CI excluded zero (Hayes & Rockwood, 2017).

Results

Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations

Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations of sense of belonging, emotional adjustment, academic adjustment, and academic persistence. The results showed that sense of belonging significantly and positively correlated with emotional adjustment (r = 0.43, p < 0.01), academic adjustment (r = 0.19, p < 0.01), and academic persistence (r = 0.43, p < 0.01). The results also showed that emotional adjustment significantly and positively correlated with academic adjustment (r = 0.14, p < 0.01) and academic persistence (r = 0.34, p < 0.01). Additionally, the results showed that academic adjustment significantly and positively correlated with academic persistence (r = 0.21,p < 0.01).

Table 2. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations

Note: **p < 0.01.

Predicting academic persistence from perceived social support

The study tested whether sense of belonging could significantly predict academic persistence (H1). The results showed that after controlling for the effects of mediating variables, a sense of belonging (/J = 0.31, p < 0. 05) significantly predicted academic persistence. Hypothesis 1 was therefore supported.

Emotional adjustment mediation

The study tested whether emotional adjustment could have a significant mediating effect on the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence (H2). The results (Table 3) showed that emotional adjustment significantly mediated the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence (/J = 0.05; 95% BCa CI [0.03, 0.07]). This means that students who reported higher levels of belonging also reported higher levels of emotional adjustment. Consequently, the higher levels of emotional adjustment contributed to higher levels of academic persistence. Therefore, Hypothesis 2 was supported.

Table 3. Mediation effects of emotional and academic adjustment

Note: β = standardised regression coefficient; SE = standard error; CI = confidence interval

Ind1 = Sense of belonging → Emotional adjustment→ Academic persistence

Ind2 = Sense of belonging→ Academic adjustment→ Academic persistence

Ind3 = Sense of belonging → Emotional adjustment → Academic adjustment → Academic persistence.

Academic adjustment mediation

The study tested whether academic adjustment could significantly mediate the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence (H3). The results revealed that academic adjustment significantly mediated the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence (β = 0.10; 95% BCa CI [0.01, 0.02]). This means that students who scored higher on sense of belonging also scored higher on academic adjustment. In turn, higher scores on academic adjustment contributed to higher scores on academic persistence. Hypothesis 3 was therefore supported.

Emotional adjustment and academic adjustment chain mediation

The study tested whether emotional and academic adjustment had a chain mediation effect on the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence. In the chain mediation model (Figure 2), sense of belonging (X) was considered a predictor variable, emotional adjustment (M₁) and academic adjustment (M₂) mediating variables, and academic persistence (Y) an outcome variable. The chain mediation results revealed that there was a statistically significant influence of sense of belonging on academic persistence via emotional and academic adjustment (β = 0.01; 95% BCa CI [0.01, 0.01]), suggesting evidence of chain mediation. Hypothesis 4 was supported.

Figure 2: A chain mediation model for sense of belonging, emotional adjustment, academic adjustment, and academic persistence

Note: *p < 0.05

Discussion

Using a sample of undergraduate students from a South African university, the study examined the influence of sense of belonging on academic persistence, with emotional and academic adjustment as mediating factors. The results revealed that a sense of belonging significantly predicted academic persistence, which is consistent with previous studies (Hausmann et al., 2007, 2009; Mtshweni, 2022b). Studies linked a sense of belonging to academic persistence and psychological well-being among students (Pedler et al., 2022; Van Gijn-Grosvenor & Huisman, 2020). For example, Yildirim and colleagues (2021) showed that a sense of belonging was related to better psychological well-being, satisfaction, and lower desire to drop out. This affirms broader findings in the higher-education literature on sense of belonging (Aslantürk & Mavili, 2020; Dost & Mazzoli Smith, 2023; Gillen-O’Neel, 2021; Gopalan et al., 2021; Hausmann et al., 2007; Le Roux & Groenewald, 2021; O’Keeffe, 2013; Soria & Stebleton, 2013; Strayhorn, 2012; Weiss, 2021).

Emotional adjustment significantly mediated the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence. While there is no evidence of previous studies that tested this hypothesis, studies indicated that a sense of belonging significantly predicted emotional adjustment (Jain & Sharma, 2022) and that a greater sense of belonging was associated with lower levels of distress and higher levels of well-being (Gökmen, 2018). Additionally, emotional adjustment was found to have a significant influence on academic persistence and intentions to dropout (Enguídanos et al., 2023; Gerdes & Mallinckrodt, 1994). The findings of this study affirm those of a previous study which indicated that sense of belonging is associated with positive emotions and retention among students (Strayhorn, 2012). The results suggested that efforts to cultivate a sense of belonging among students are warranted. They should also be provided with emotional support in the form of institutional counselling services, which could help them regulate emotions to cope with academic challenges. Enguídanos and colleagues (2023) similarly maintain that universities could consider tailor-made tools to foster emotional regulation strategies to mitigate dropout intentions.

Academic adjustment significantly mediated the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence. This finding corroborates previous studies that showed that a sense of belonging significantly predicted academic adjustment (Ostrove & Long, 2007; Sánchez et al., 2005), while academic adjustment predicted academic persistence (Silinda, 2018). Research revealed that students tend to struggle with academic adjustment issues in South African institutions of higher learning (Dlamini et al., 2020; Mittelmeier et al., 2019; Nel et al., 2016). This highlights the necessity of inculcating an institutional culture of belongingness, so that students can feel an integral part of their university, which would aid with academic adjustment. Van Rooij and colleagues (2018) showed that academic adjustment is associated with enrolment satisfaction, which in turn was found to be a significant predictor of intentions to persist – thus confirming the results of a previous study conducted in South Africa which revealed academic adjustment to be predictive of academic persistence (Silinda, 2018).

Emotional and academic adjustment had a chain mediating effect on the relationship between sense of belonging and academic persistence. These results are in line with previous studies which revealed that sense of belonging predicted emotional adjustment (Gökmen, 2018; Jain & Sharma, 2022), while emotional adjustment was significantly related to and predicted academic adjustment (Mittelmeier et al., 2019; Sekar & Lawrence, 2016). In the same way, academic adjustment was found to be a significant predictor of academic persistence (Cazan et al., 2023; Silinda, 2018). This means that students with a greater sense of belonging reported better emotional adjustment and, students with better academic adjustment reported greater academic persistence. A sense of belonging has been theorised to be a basic need among higher-education students and essential for strengthening students’ academic commitment and persistence (Strayhorn, 2012; Tinto, 2017). Additionally, Strayhorn (2012) pointed out that a sense of belonging takes on particular importance for students because it is a fundamental motive for driving behaviour that is linked to academic success. The results of this study, therefore, characterised a sense of belonging as a critical factor for academic success as it could, directly and indirectly, determine students’ academic persistence. This means that cultivating institutional cultures that foster belonging is important, especially for the characteristically diverse student population in the South African highereducation system and other similar higher-education systems.

Implications for student development and counselling

As indicated, the results of this study suggested a need to foster a sense of belonging to achieve psychological well-being and academic success through persistence. Hence, university mental healthcare support centres should invest time and resources in awareness programmes aimed at equipping students with, for instance, social and communication skills which could enhance their ability to connect to others and foster a sense of belonging among their peers and in the institutional community. Additionally, the centres may invest in psychoeducation programmes to train students on appropriate techniques to handle emotions and cope with academic workload and university transitional challenges. Psychoeducation programmes were linked to greater mental well-being, motivational strategies and academic success among university students (Hood et al., 2021; Önemli & Yöndem, 2012). Moreover, student induction and orientation programmes that introduce students to differing cultures in the learning context were cited as important strategies for acclimatising them to the institution and helping them to belong (Strayhorn, 2020). South African universities cater to a multi-cultural and characteristically diverse student population. Orientating students to this variety of cultures and characteristics could help them to interact with fellow students better and to find commonalities. It could quell potential misconceptions about cultural or background orientations, and help the students find a belonging niche in the institutional community.

Universities should also advocate for supportive and strong student–faculty relationships. These relationships should be characterised by care, support, and a welcoming environment to engender a sense of belonging among students (O’Keeffe, 2013). Strayhorn (2020) opined that student–faculty relationships matched by a supportive learning environment are likely to engender a sense of belonging and academic persistence. In the same way, Ibrahim and El Zaatari (2020) confirmed that student–faculty relationships enhanced student development and created a sense of belonging in their learning community, suggesting that universities should enact student-support policies that advocate for stronger relationships between students and members of the academic and administrative staff.

Student involvement in academic and social activities is essential for satisfying the need to belong. This means that the academic teaching staff should consider various strategies to fulfil students’ need for a sense of belonging, such as adopting teaching practices that are primarily based on group work (Strayhorn, 2019), task engagement, and cross-cultural collaborations. This could potentially result in increased group affiliation, cooperation, closeness, connection, and mutualism among students, all of which are characteristics linked to a sense of belonging. Students should also be encouraged to actively participate in institutional social events such as sporting, musical, and cultural functions, and student organisations. Research indicated that participating in institutional social events and student organisations was significantly associated with and predictive of a sense of belonging, and emotional and academic adjustment (Guilmette et al., 2019; Hanks, 2018; Shaulskiy, 2016), all of which were proven by this study to have a significant influence on academic persistence.

Limitations and future recommendations

This study has shown the importance of developing a sense of belonging and linked it to the importance of emotional and academic adjustment for academic persistence. Limitations of this study include the use of self-reporting instruments, which are prone to social desirability bias. Additionally, the study was limited to a relatively small sample from a single university. Future research should consider replicating the study using different data-collection methods with a larger sample from several universities to improve the generalisability of the results.

Conclusion

Irrespective of the limitations, the results of the study accentuate that a sense of belonging is essential for academic persistence and success among undergraduate students. Further, the study demonstrated the importance of emotional and academic adjustment in determining students’ desire to persist academically. Moreover, the study showed how sense of belonging distinctively related to academic persistence through emotional and academic adjustment, suggesting that belonging needs should be fulfilled to enable students to attain their academic goals and aspirations. Therefore, institutions of higher learning should strive to create learning environments that are belonging-centred to help students adjust better emotionally and academically to persist and complete their qualifications. This study contributed to the literature on psychological well-being and persistence issues among students and further offers practical strategies for enhancing psychological well-being to boost academic persistence and, consequently, the completion of qualifications and academic success.

Author’s note

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation (Grant no. 111747).