Abstract
Underrepresented college students (e.g., first-generation college students, Black, Latinx, Indigenous students, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds) are less likely to complete college degrees and pursue a postgraduate education due to a plethora of unique challenges, such as discrimination and other experiences of marginalization. One way to potentially counteract challenges that underrepresented students face and potentially promote their educational attainment is through supportive relationships with nonparental adults (i.e., natural mentors). The current study sought to characterize underrepresented students’ natural mentoring experiences across the college years and explore how various dimensions of college students’ natural mentoring experiences (i.e., quantity of natural mentors, relationships with institutional natural mentors, natural mentor support, and the retention of natural mentors) may have been related to their subsequent educational attainment. The study was conducted with 340 underrepresented college students (69% female; mean age = 18.1, SD =.37) who were enrolled in their first year of college at a predominantly White institution in Fall 2013. First-year students were eligible to participate in the study if they identified as a member of a historically underrepresented racial/ethnic group, first-generation college student, or were eligible for the full amount of the Pell Grant (an indicator of economic disadvantage). Participants completed annual surveys across the four college years (Spring 2014 through Spring 2017) where they reported on their natural mentoring relationships (adults other than their parents who they could go to for support, advice, and help making important decisions). Participants could report on as many as five natural mentors at each time point and were asked descriptive information about the mentors (including how they knew them) and how frequently they received support from them. Educational attainment was assessed in 2023. With regard to characterizing the quantity of natural mentors students possessed across the college years, a latent class analysis revealed 5 distinct classes, with students who had a greater number of natural mentors more consistently across time showing greater educational attainment relative to students who consistently had no/fewer natural mentors or students who started college with more mentors but experienced a precipitous drop in mentor quantity soon after starting college. Furthermore, descriptive statistics suggested that 48% of students had at least one institutional natural mentor during their time in college, students who had a natural mentor received support from their mentors an average of once or twice a month, and 16% of students had a retained natural mentor across all time points, while 68% retained at least one natural mentor across two or more time points. Regression analyses suggested that the presence and total quantity of institutional natural mentors, natural mentor support, and quantity of natural mentors retained across two or more time points were positively associated with greater educational attainment. Overall, findings from this dissertation suggest that underrepresented students demonstrate heterogeneous natural mentoring experiences. My findings suggest that, on the whole, more natural mentor presence, received support, and sustained connections may bode well for underrepresented students’ future educational attainment.
