2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This is a complete analysis work on establishing the relationship between all three factors namely sense of belonging, mental health and well-being (MHW), and engineering identity in the context of Engineering Stress Culture (ESC) within first-year engineering courses at a large mid-western university for Fall 2023. The analysis on gender focuses on Female and Male, while ethnicity/race focuses on the underrepresented group (African American) and the overrepresented group (White). The results indicate a strong correlation between the engineering major and the engineering classroom across gender and ethnic groups. Specifically, fostering an inclusive and supportive environment within the engineering major is crucial for enhancing the classroom experience, benefiting both Male and African American students. Female and African American students tend to perceive higher levels of stress compared to Males and Whites, respectively, with Female and African Americans exhibiting a greater ability to predict the connection between perceived stress and the sense of belonging within their gender and ethnic contexts. The findings suggest that competence and interest play a more significant role in shaping male students' identity in engineering compared to females. White students exhibit stronger correlations between recognition by others and interest, as well as competence and interest, indicating a more pronounced influence on their engineering identity compared to African American students. Furthermore, while interest appears to have a greater influence on engineering identity across Female, Male, and White groups, this trend differs for African Americans, suggesting that feeling recognized by others significantly shapes their perceptions of identity in engineering. Lastly, perceived stress is less strongly associated with individuals' interest in engineering than with their perceived competence or recognition by others, implying a lower risk of stress even when interest is not strong. Further research is needed to determine causality and identify any underlying factors influencing this relationship. This work may further examine the evolution of these factors as first-year students advance through subsequent semesters. This exploration contributes depth to our understanding of the dynamic relationship among sense of belonging, engineering identity, the ESC, and students' mental health and well-being over time.