QCC students and faculty recently represented the college at the Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) conference, a major annual gathering that brings together psychology scholars from across the Northeast and beyond.
The focus of QCC's three poster presentations was stigma experienced by community college students. Students Amy Coleman, Meghav Patel, Jenner Gaitan, Maria Snell, Paige Turcotte, Sarah Young gained experience presenting research at the conference.
Professor of Psychology Dr. Eric Mania noted that conducting and presenting research is critical for students to be admitted into strong graduate programs in psychology.
The research was based on a national survey developed by QCC students, which was selected as the annual project for Psi Beta, the national honor society for psychology students at two‑year colleges. The survey was administered to community college students nationwide and focused on stigma associated with attending a community college.
One poster examined how frequently students experience stigma and how that stigma relates to other outcomes. One finding revealed that 88.5% of the surveyed community college students reported experiencing at least some degree of community college stigma. Higher levels of stigma were also linked to increased stress, stronger internalization of negative stereotypes, lower well‑being, and reduced expectations for future career success.
The other posters explored imposter phenomenon among community college students and how identifying with one’s college relates to perceptions and internalization of stereotypes.
"Through sharing this research with the broader psychological community at the conference, we hoped to inspire further research on the effects of community college stigma and on identifying strategies that can reduce it," Mania said.