Data_Sheet_1_Sources of Male and Female Students’ Belonging Uncertainty in the Computer Sciences.PDF

Belonging uncertainty, defined as the general concern about the quality of one’s social relationships in an academic setting, has been found to be an important determinant of academic achievement and persistence. However, to date, only little research investigated the sources of belonging uncertainty. To address this research gap, we examined three potential sources of belonging uncertainty in a sample of undergraduate computer science students in Germany (N = 449) and focused on (a) perceived affective and academic exclusion by fellow students, (b) domain-specific academic self-efficacy beliefs, and (c) perception of one’s individual performance potential compared to that of fellow students in the field. Perceived affective and academic exclusion by fellow students and domain-specific academic self-efficacy beliefs were significant predictors of female students’ uncertainty about belonging in computer science. The perception of one’s individual performance potential in comparison to that of fellow students, however, was a relevant predictor of both male and female students’ belonging uncertainty in computer science. Our findings imply an expanded view of the theoretical concept of belonging uncertainty that goes beyond mere concerns of social connectedness.

归属不确定性（belonging uncertainty）被定义为学术场景中个体对自身社交关系质量的普遍担忧，现有研究已证实其是学业成就与学业坚持性的重要预测因素。然而迄今为止，针对归属不确定性成因的相关研究仍较为匮乏。为填补这一研究空白，本研究以德国449名计算机科学本科学生为样本（N=449），考察了归属不确定性的三类潜在成因，具体聚焦于：(a) 个体感知到的同伴在情感与学业层面的排斥；(b) 领域特异性学业自我效能感信念；(c) 个体对自身相较于同领域同伴的学业表现潜能的认知。研究结果显示，同伴情感与学业排斥感知、领域特异性学业自我效能感信念，可显著预测女性计算机科学学生的归属不确定性。而个体相较于同领域同伴的学业表现潜能认知，则可同时显著预测男女计算机科学学生的归属不确定性。本研究结果表明，归属不确定性这一理论概念的内涵应得到拓展，其范畴不应仅局限于社交联结层面的担忧。