Identity as a Mediator of Institutional Integration Variables in the Prediction of Undergraduate Persistence Intentions

Abstract

This investigation tested the hypothesis that the developmental variable identity mediates the effects of the institutional integration variables academic and social integration in the prediction of undergraduate students’ persistence intentions. Long-term (persistence in higher education: PHE) and short-term (persistence at the institution: PAI) persistence intentions served as the criterion variables. The hypothesis was tested for the overall sample (N = 182) in which separate block hierarchical analyses were conducted in predicting PHE and PAI. Results generally confirmed the hypothesis, consistent with Eriksonian theory, in that identity mediated the impact of academic integration in the prediction of PAI and was the only predictor to exert a significant effect on PHE. Results are discussed in the context of the importance of considering developmental variables such as identity to enhance models predicting undergraduate persistence.