New research: How to support students’ sense of belonging during the transition to college

The transition to college represents a critical period when students face numerous academic and social challenges. With rising rates of depression among college students, particularly in the wake of COVID-19, researchers sought to understand protective psychological factors that might help students navigate this transition successfully. This study, by Hsu, Nardini, Velez, & Raposa (2025), examined “psychological flexibility” – the ability to pursue one’s values despite experiencing difficult thoughts and emotions – and its relationship to student well-being.

  • Participants: 238 first-semester students from five different universities
  • Timing: Data collected in Fall 2022
  • Measures:
    • Psychological flexibility (three components: openness to experience, behavioral awareness, and valued action)
    • Depression symptoms
    • Sense of belonging on campus

The researchers found that all three components of psychological flexibility were associated with lower levels of depression. However, only “valued action” – the component related to identifying and pursuing meaningful goals – was linked to a stronger sense of belonging on campus. This suggests that while being mindful and accepting of difficult emotions is helpful for mental health, actually engaging in value-driven behaviors may be particularly important for helping students feel connected to their college community.

How can your program foster belonging among first-year students?

  1. Helping students identify their values and connect them to campus opportunities
  • Create structured activities for students to reflect on what matters to them
  • Connect students to clubs, organizations, and academic programs aligned with their values
  • Provide mentoring that helps students translate values into concrete actions
  • Assign Super Ready to Thrive to students so they learn how to identify their values

  1. Supporting value-driven engagement
  • Develop first-year programming that encourages active participation rather than passive attendance
  • Create low-barrier opportunities for students to contribute meaningfully to campus life
  • Highlight diverse ways students can pursue their values within the campus community
  1. Building psychological flexibility skills
  • Consider incorporating acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) principles into orientation or first-year experience programs
  • Provide resources and workshops that help students develop skills for managing difficult thoughts and emotions
  • Train staff and peer mentors in supporting students’ psychological flexibility

The findings suggest that while managing emotions is important, actively helping students engage in meaningful activities aligned with their values may be particularly powerful for building campus belonging during the critical first semester of college.

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