“You’re doing great. Keep doing what you’re doing”: socially supportive communication during first-generation college students’ socialization

ABSTRACT

The experiences of first-generation college students (FGCS) are marked by high levels of stress and uncertainty as they navigate the transition to college. This study uses the organizational assimilation model to explore FGCS’ transition to college by temporally analyzing multiple sources and types of socially supportive communication found in interviews with 28 FGCS in their first semester at a four-year university. Findings suggest that during anticipatory socialization, FGCS primarily engaged in informational and instrumental social support interactions; in the encounter phase of socialization, FGCS (while still engaging in informational and instrumental support interactions) also engaged in appraisal and emotional support interactions. Findings also illuminate the ways in which FGCS embodied the role of pioneers, even early in the socialization process, suggesting important implications for their role not only as receivers of social support, but as agents of social support.

KEYWORDS:

• first-generation college students
• social support
• organizational assimilation
• college experiences
• socialization

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the first-generation college students who voluntarily shared their stories. We are also appreciative of the mentors, advisors, instructors, and multicultural affairs staff who support FGCS and promoted our research. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Adrianne Kunkel and Dr. Angie Pastorek for serving as friendly reviewers and peer debriefers throughout the research process.

ORCID

Angela N. Gist-Mackey http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1590-0728

Marissa L. Wiley http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5627-5319

Notes

1 We use this conceptualization of FGCS since this is how the institution where recruitment took place defined FGCS. In this definition, if a student’s parent started but did not complete college, this student would still be considered first-generation. Many universities use this same conceptualization of FGCS.

2 Our interview protocol was not identity-specific (i.e., it did not explicitly explore distinctions between identity features such as race, class, and first-generation status). Future studies should take this limitation into account and develop different interview guides based on the various self-ascribed identities of FGCS.

3 We recognize our study solely relied on our participants’ ability to recall their actions. Future research would benefit from observational data between FGCS and family, peers, faculty, and staff.

4 We interviewed FGCS in November and December 2016, when several racial incidents at various universities were making headlines. While some racial/ethnic minority students did say that it made them think more about their racial/ethnic identity at a predominantly white university, the large majority said they felt welcome at this university. That is, their racial/ethnic identity did not emerge in the data as a dominant factor influencing socialization during their first semester of college.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Kansas (Faculty Start Up Funds).