2024 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-19-2024

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Eric Martin and Dr. Kelly Rossetto

Abstract

College is a period of change for students. With the increasing level of difficulty, the challenge of fitting into a new environment, and finding healthy relationships, it can be very challenging for students to feel like they belong. Without creating valuable connections on campus, students can develop feelings of loneliness. The group membership, or lack thereof, also contributes to student’s success in academics. In addition to these feelings, many students also suffer from perfectionism. Maladaptive traits of perfectionism are detrimental to student health, and students with these traits experience fewer connection difficulties when they are socially connected on campus (Rice, K 2006). Student organizations and clubs on campus foster a sense of belonging, by providing a place for like-minded individuals to participate in what they enjoy. Our study investigated how belonging, loneliness, and perfectionism were related in a sample of students, ranging from the undergraduate to the doctoral level. By organizing students by the amount and type of their involvement, we examined how their participation affected our selected variables. From the results, we can recommend to incoming Boise State students what kinds of involvement will create feelings of belonging, and decreased levels of loneliness and maladaptive perfectionism.

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