Classism, Work Volition, Life Satisfaction, and Academic Satisfaction in College Students: A Longitudinal Study

Undergraduate students from lower social class backgrounds may experience poorer academic and life satisfaction when encountering classism in higher education. However, few studies have examined links among classism, career, academic, and well-being outcomes among undergraduate students, and existing studies have been cross-sectional. Therefore, this study examined longitudinal relations between classism and academic and life satisfaction in a sample of undergraduate students and examined work volition as a mediator of these relations. With a large sample of undergraduate students surveyed five times over the course of an academic year, we found that institutional classism predicted greater interpersonal classism and lower work volition over time. In turn, work volition predicted both greater academic and life satisfaction over time. This study has implications for understanding factors that affect the retention of students from lower social class backgrounds and how institutions of higher education can intervene to address barriers faced by economically marginalized students.