Eggermont, Christina (1/12) The impact of family and individuation on the academic success of ethnic minority emerging adults (Gary Kose, Ph.D.; Elizabeth Kudadjie, Ph.D.; Joan Duncan, Ph.D.)
As the college enrollment rates of ethnic minority students who are first in their family to attend college (i.e. first-generation college student) continue to rise, there is a need to build a better knowledge base for understanding and meeting the special needs of this group. This study obtained data pertaining to the collectivistic and individualistic traits of 146 African American, Afro Caribbean, Latin American, Asian American emerging adults who were first in their family to attend college to better understand the predictors of their academic success. A multiple mediation model was employed to assess the relationship between ethnic minority student's ethnic identity status and familial interdependence to their academic GPA, effort, and motivation. Results supported previous findings, while also providing new information on this unique group. High levels of maturity limited the influence of parental support of education on students' academic effort. Study findings can be applied to the development of educational tools for both universities and families of ethnic minority first-generation college students.
