In measuring a student’s sense of belonging to their residential community, we sought to extend the current literature by comparing the sense of belonging of both student residential leaders and student residents, with academic class year (first-year or upper-division) variables. We employed a descriptive, cross-sectional, nomothetic research design. Two scales were used to measure residential sense of belonging. Over four administrations, we solicited 10,684 on-campus residents at a 4-year university in the southern United States and received an average survey completion rate of 29%, totaling 3,051 total responses. Independent sample t-tests were used to perform data analysis. Responses indicated that residential leaders reported a statistically significant higher level of belonging than did their resident counterparts across eight subscales. Additionally, first-year residential leaders reported a higher level of perceived peer support at a statistically significant level than did their first-year resident counterparts. Recommendations for practice and future research regarding residence life and student housing professionals can be found in the conclusion.
Nadler, M. & Grabsch, D. K. (2026). Sense of belonging among residential leaders versus residents: A comparative study. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 52(2). doi: 10.71348/001c.158863
Dustin K. Grabsch, Ph.D. 