Social Science II

Helina Butler, hbutler@harding.edu
Harding University, with Dr. Kanembe Shanachilubwa

Exploring the Impact of Marriage on College Students
How does being married impact the college experience? Research shows that students who have strong marriages find it easier to meet academic demands. This study aims to determine the impact marriage has on a college student's experience. Based on the literature surrounding the research question, an interview of heterosexual couples was conducted to understand the married college experience. Participants were interviewed separately to enable them to talk freely.

Analysis of the responses demonstrated that a positive college experience was associated with marital satisfaction. Findings indicate that being married in college makes it easier to manage their time and overall have a better experience. It inferred that academic success is possible for married students who have positive marital satisfaction. Further research could be on the topics of non-heterosexual couples, couples who are not college age, and finally, couples who have reached their golden anniversary of 50 years or more.
 

Darianna Carrillo, dycarrillo23fl@ollusa.edu
Our Lady of the Lake University, with Dr. Deborah Hendren

Balancing Dreams: The Struggles of Latina University Students
As of 2023, Latinos constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the United States, accounting for approximately 19.5% of the total population-equivalent to about 65.2 million people (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2024). With the massive growth in this population, there has been an increase in young Latinas obtaining a bachelor's degree (Mukherjee et al., 2024). However, Latinas are still underrepresented compared to their non-Latina female counterparts (Bielma, 2018, p. 3).

This quantitative study explores the cultural and structural challenges Latina college students face during their university experience.The research participants were undergraduate Latina college students between the ages of 18-26 years old. The research specifically examined how traditional family values-familismo and marianismo-influence their academic motivation and self-efficacy. Familismo emphasizes family loyalty, unity, and obligation. Marianismo defines ideal femininity through self-sacrifice, submissiveness, chastity, and acceptance of male dominance.

This study used four validated instruments: the Familismo Scale, the Marianismo Beliefs Scale (MBS), the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). These tools measured participants' traditional family values and their levels of academic motivation and academic self-efficacy. Together, the study findings may provide a better understanding of how traditional family values influence the academic self-efficacy of Latina university students.

Samuel Wells, swells129@mail.snu.edu
Southern Nazarene University, with Dr. Scott Drabenstot

Exploring the Relationship Between Acts of Mercy and Acts of Piety within First-Year College Students 
Social Learning Theory (SLT), developed by Alburt Bandura, suggests that vicarious observation induces replication of behavior if there is focus on and respect for the model (1977). In contemporary Christian contexts, the predictors of merciful and pious behaviors are not well known. Understanding demographic, contextual (e.g. intrinsic religiosity, religious behavior in groups, religious behavior alone), and current behaviors’ predictive power is crucial in creating positive communities. First-year college students from the South-Central region of the U.S. completed surveys including a self-report demographic survey, a Duke University Religion Index for intrinsic religiosity, and the Mercy and Piety Practices Inventory created for this study. Results indicated a correlation between past and present behaviors (e.g., piety predicts piety and mercy predicts mercy). In addition, results suggest correlations between engaging in acts of piety and acts of mercy, suggesting a cross expression that is strongest with merciful behaviors. This supports the SLT idea of observational learning. Furthermore, results suggest that, while socialization is important, agency-centered engagement, also called self-socializing, leads to greater retention and expression of learning. T-tests and linear regressions suggested that demographics have little to no effect, outside of White students receiving more pious socialization than people of color. Additionally, context has a significant effect on religious behaviors, but mercy and intrinsic religiosity have no significant relationship. These results suggest that, among these participants, pious behaviors are frequently expressed, but steps would need to be taken to increase merciful behaviors, such as raising exposure to merciful behavior and opportunities to practice.