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ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1085-878X
Date of Graduation
5-9-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Department of Graduate Psychology
Advisor(s)
Stephanie Crockett
Robin D. Anderson
Debbie C. Sturm
Abstract
This dissertation delves into the intersections of social and cultural capital, self-advocacy, sense of belonging, and the experiences of mental health help-seeking among rural, first-generation college students. Rural, first-generation college students face unique challenges throughout their academic journey, this dissertation aims to contribute to the literature by examining the experiences and support mechanisms that are crucial for this population to be successful in higher education. This dissertation follows a triple-manuscript style, including a conceptual manuscript, quantitative manuscript, and a qualitative manuscript. The conceptual manuscript examined how college counselors can build contextual social and cultural capital among rural, first-generation college students through social ecological framework. The quantitative manuscript employed a simple linear regression to determine the predictive role of self-advocacy on sense of belonging. The results of this manuscript showed a significant negative correlation between self-advocacy readiness (SARS) and sense of belonging-psychological states (SOBI-P), while there was a significant positive correlation between SARS and sense of belonging-antecedents (SOBI-A). For the qualitative manuscript, semi-structured, in-depth, interviews were given to get at the essence of rural, first-generation college students’ experiences seeking mental health services on a college campus. Three central themes emerged from the findings, (a) rural perceptions on mental health, (b) barriers to help-seeking, and (c) levels of support, with ten subthemes dispersed between the three central themes. These manuscripts offer invaluable insights into the experiences of rural, first-generation college students, presenting avenues to bolster their academic success and well-being within the realm of higher education.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Sarah, "Exploring the intersection of mental health, self-advocacy, and sense of belonging among rural, first-generation college students" (2024). Dissertations, 2020-current. 152.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/diss202029/152
