Community Association: Exploring Interaction Effects Between Gender and Student Housing Type

Abstract

Students’ sense of community is at the heart of their college success and can be impacted by many factors, including staff, programming, and hall design, as well as demographic variables such as age, ethnicity, and gender. The purpose of this study is to investigate how gender and student housing type at a faith-based institution influence sense of community (SOC). In this study 350 undergraduate students (241 women, 109 men, M age = 18.24 years; SD = 0.48) enrolled at an urban faith-based university responded to questions about their perceived sense of community in relation to their residential environment. Multiple analyses of covariance assessed participants’ membership, purpose of belonging, fulfillment of needs, emotional support, and development of relationships in connection to housing type. While gender alone did not significantly impact sense of community, the interaction effect between gender and student housing type was found to be significant. Findings highlight the differentiated community experiences of men and women within residential settings, suggesting that community association is actualized differently based on students’ gender and the design of residence halls. Limitations and future directions are discussed.