(PS9-80) Correlates of First-generation College Students’ Mental Health: A Systematic Mixed Studies Review

First-generation college students (FGS), who do not have a parent or guardian with a four-year college degree, face unique challenges in institutions of higher education. Achieving higher educational attainment than the previous generation is an important driver of reducing health disparities for FGS, who often come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and hold marginalized racial/ethnic identities. However, FGS report worse mental health than continuing-generation students (CGS) and factors explaining these mental health disparities are not well-understood. We conducted a review of qualitative and quantitative studies to identify and summarize the breadth of factors that are correlated with FGS’ mental health. A systematic review of PsycINFO, ERIC, PubMed, and Web of Science identified a total of 35 studies for inclusion. We synthesized study findings using thematic analysis. We extracted a total of 14 descriptive themes, which we broadly grouped into two domains: contextual factors and individual characteristics. We found that although FGS and CGS are affected by many of the same correlates of mental health, 1) FGS faced some unique stressors that CGS did not (i.e., bicultural social class identity integration); 2) FGS experienced higher levels of certain risk factors (e.g., discrimination) and/or lower levels of certain protective factors (e.g., academic self-efficacy) than CGS; and 3) FGS were more negatively impacted by certain risk factors (e.g., financial stress) and/or less benefitted by certain protective factors (e.g., academic support) than CGS. We also found that a sense of belonging was a common mechanism through which contextual and individual-level factors predicted FGS’ mental health. Findings of the present review suggest that a combination of approaches are needed to support FGS’ mental health: in tandem with systemic changes to shift cultural norms at institutions and make them more inclusive for all students, FGS may also benefit from interventions and programming designed to support their well-being. Specifically, our findings suggest that promoting a sense of belonging, fostering a less competitive and discriminatory academic culture, reducing student drinking norms, removing financial barriers, and giving FGS the knowledge they need to access and utilize academic resources may be especially fruitful. As the majority of studies included in the present review were cross-sectional and focused on individual-level deficits, experimental and quasi-experimental approaches are required to support causal claims about risk and protective factors that can inform intervention design and systems-level change. Future studies should also take a strengths-based approach to highlight and explore institutional factors that help FGS thrive in higher education settings.