The Relationship Between Low-Income College Students’ Time Use and Well-Being: A Mixed Methods Exploration

Joseph A. Kitchen (), Nicholas A. Bowman, Ralitsa Todorova, Lauren N. Irwin and Zoë B. Corwin
Additional contact information
Joseph A. Kitchen: University of Southern California
Nicholas A. Bowman: University of Iowa
Ralitsa Todorova: University of Southern California
Lauren N. Irwin: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Zoë B. Corwin: University of Southern California

Research in Higher Education, 2024, vol. 65, issue 8, No 9, 1934-1964

Abstract: Abstract Recent reports show that low-income students make up a significant share of those participating in higher education, and their well-being constitutes a key factor that influences their college success. This mixed-methods study examined first-year, low-income students’ time use and its relationship to well-being framed by an equity-oriented lens that recognizes the time constraints low-income students navigate. Our mixed methods findings identified the link between time use and well-being and—critically—empirical explanations for these links. First, leveraging a unique experience sampling survey design and multilevel analyses, we found that attending class, studying or doing homework, and working for pay were consistently and adversely related to low-income students’ well-being. Low-income students who were also first-generation in college fared worse than continuing-generation students when engaging in these experiences. On the other hand, socializing was positively related to low-income students’ well-being. Second, an exploration of longitudinal data from hundreds of student interviews illuminated two primary factors that shaped the relationship between low-income students’ time use and well-being: (a) structuring time and developing a routine, and (b) the power of reflection and meaning-making. These findings provide important novel insights about low-income students’ college experiences and the relationship between their time use and well-being, and offer crucial guidance for educators on how to support low-income students’ well-being as they navigate college.

Keywords: Low-income students; Time use; Well-being; Mixed-methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11162-024-09812-8 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:reihed:v:65:y:2024:i:8:d:10.1007_s11162-024-09812-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/11162

DOI: 10.1007/s11162-024-09812-8

Access Statistics for this article

Research in Higher Education is currently edited by Robert K. Toutkoushian

More articles in Research in Higher Education from Springer, Association for Institutional Research
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().