Are First Generation and Low Income Graduates Happy? Investigation of the Association Between Happiness and FGLI Participants

Author: Shaniya Longino

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This picture is of Shaniya Longino as she wears Black individual braids and a green sweater.

Shaniya Longino

Atlanta-native Shaniya Longino is a Junior at Wesleyan University. While majoring in Education Studies and College of East Asian Studies, she also balances her time working at the Writing Workshop, Assessment Lab, and watching movies with friends!

Abstract: This research examines the relationship between First-Generation and Low Income (FGLI) status and their happiness scores. This study finds that although there isn’t a significant relationship between the two variables, there are statistically significant factors that affect happiness, such as health status, satisfaction with finances, the frequency of seeing relatives, and frequency of emotional problems. This is majorly in part due to the small sample size of FGLI in the General Social Survey (GSS) data set. This research opens up the conversation surrounding an increase of FGLI students and how the shift in social capital affects their lives. However with a limited sample size, there is not enough evidence to prove whether the relationship is significant.

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