Collegiate social class and connectedness: class in a transitional period of life

Abstract

Purpose

This research study set out to answer the following question: How does social class relate to social connectedness in college?

Design/methodology/approach

The authors operationalized a nonexperimental, cross-sectional and analytical study design to analyze 271 survey responses.

Findings

This study illustrates that discretionary income has the most dramatic practical significance on the social connectedness of undergraduate students at the research site. As the body of knowledge regarding effective measures of social class for collegians increases, institutions should consider more innovative measures like discretionary spending, perceived social class and others during this unique transitional period of life.

Originality/value

A widened perspective of social class in college could aid in supporting the university and college goals of student success and social well-being.

Citation

Grabsch, D.K., Jennings-Rentz, A., Kunovich, R.M., Hinduja, S. and Chinnam, D. (2023), "Collegiate social class and connectedness: class in a transitional period of life", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. 15 No. 5, pp. 1467-1480. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-05-2022-0132