Effects of Inclusive Campus Climate (ICC) program on Sense of Belonging and Mental Wellness for Students of Color in Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs)
Sense of belonging is the hypothesized precursor of the vulnerability factor for depression, whereas a higher sense of belonging promotes better psychological and social. Also, a sense of belonging for ethnic minorities is known to be negatively associated with their depressive symptoms and positively related to perceived self-efficacy, academic competence, and social acceptance. The objective of the proposed study is to evaluate the impact of the Inclusive Campus Climate (ICC) program on a sense of belonging and mental health of students of color in Predominantly White Institutions (PWI). Our central hypothesis is that an inclusive campus climate improves a sense of belonging and mental wellness for students of color in a PWI. The intervention ICC program (12-week) will be provided with the Control and Treatment group, and a pre/post/follow-up test will be conducted.; For the treatment group, Academic Support and Counseling Services will be given for 12 weeks. 420 undergraduate freshmen students will participate, and the effect size is assumed as.25. For the statistical analysis, a one-way repeated measures ANOVA test will be used separately on the experimental group and the control group. We can expect that 1) the ICC program positively affects the sense of belonging and mental wellness, and 2) treatment groups show a significant difference in both sense of belonging and mental health conditions.