Investigating the Reliability and Validity of the Sense of Belonging Inventory among First Year Undergraduates

In higher education, sense of belonging has been linked to improved outcomes such as retention and academic achievement. However, little research has been conducted to empirically study sense of belonging as a multidimensional construct. Data were collected from 1,072 first-year undergraduate students from a large, public, doctoral granting institution located in an urban area of the southeastern United States using the Sense of Belonging inventory. Results revealed four dimensions of belonging: perceived peer support, perceived faculty support, perceived classroom comfort, and perceived isolation. Results also revealed relationships between each dimension and first semester grade point average. These findings align with previous research on the relationship between sense of belonging and institutional outcomes as well as the reliability and validity of this inventory and support its use as a valid and reliable measure of sense of belonging in first-year undergraduates.