Date of Degree
2025
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Director
Mac, Jacqueline
Committee Members
Nyunt, Gudrun; Hu, Xiaodan
Keywords
Social determinants of health, resilience, student-parents, college women, dependent children, critical quantitative, belonging, basic needs, support, health equity
Abstract
This critical quantitative analysis explores how social determinants of health, including basic needs security, caregiving and work responsibilities, healthcare access, discrimination experiences, and institutional support predict resilience among U.S. college women with dependents. Using data from the Spring 2021 ACHA-NCHA III survey (n = 4,417), this study integrated the Health Equity Framework with the Social Ecological Theory of Resilience to examine multilevel influences on resilience. Descriptive analyses highlighted disproportionate burdens among single, first-generation, and racially minoritized groups. Bivariate chi-square tests revealed significant associations between resilience and sense of belonging, basic needs security, employment, healthcare utilization, and self-assessed overall health. Multinomial logistic regression confirmed that psychological distress, overall health, institutional belonging, work hours, current housing situation, and medical provider visits were significant predictors of resilience and together could explain nearly 20% of the variance in resilience. Findings underscore that resilience is not merely an individual trait but reflects broader structural and relational contexts, whether in higher education, workplaces, or communities. While the population studied here includes college women with dependents, these findings call for a wider lens on supporting parents are learners, workers, and caregivers, not only in higher education but across society.
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Kahrs, Juliana, "Beyond Grit: Structural Determinants of Resilience Among College Women with Children in the U.S." (2025). Dissertations of Practice. 106.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/106
Included in
Adult and Continuing Education Commons, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons, Mental and Social Health Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons
