By Andrea J. Cunningham, Ph.D., Cohort 8
The purpose of this study, Generational Status, Self-Esteem, Academic Self-Efficacy, and Perceived Social Support: Their Role in First Generation Graduate Students’ Psychological Well- Being, was to extend previous research conducted by Wang and Castaneda-Sound (2008) that examined the influences of generational status, self-esteem, academic self-efficacy, and perceived social support on undergraduate FGC students’ wellbeing. This research explored how the previously mention variables affected the FGC students on the graduate level. It also attempted to confirm the findings on students on the undergraduate level.
As first generation college students (FGC) continue to increase in numbers at colleges and universities, administrators much acknowledge and deal with the issues which accompany them. This is especially true for first generation students on the graduate level. If challenges such as lack of preparation for college and psychosomatic issues are not mitigated on the undergraduate level, the persistence of graduate students may be affected.
This study used a qualitative methodology to investigate the relationships, if any, between academic self-efficacy, self-esteem, and perceived social support from family and friends on first generation graduate students’ psychological well-being. The results of this study have implications on the retention and persistence of first generation students who wish to go on to purse graduate degrees. The study allows higher education administrators an opportunity to see some of the challenges today’s first generation graduate students face.
