A Canonical Correlational Analysis Examining the Relationship Between Peer Mentorship, Belongingness, Impostor Feelings, and Black Collegians’ Academic and Psychosocial Outcomes

Abstract

Disparities in students’ psychosocial outcomes are an underresearched area of achievement gap research. Racial-ethnic minorities endorse a lower sense of belonging, higher impostorism scores, and decreased college adjustment at predominately White institutions relative to White students and these disparities impact their college outcomes. This study explores how peer mentorship contributes to the academic and socioemotional outcomes of a sample of Black collegians. Furthermore, the study examines whether variations in student outcomes function as a result of the type of mentorship endorsed by students. Results revealed a positive relationship between mentorship, mentorship experiences and college adjustment, and an inverse relationship with impostorism. Furthermore, students with mentors reported significantly higher belongingness and college adjustment scores compared to students with no mentors.