The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1 - 69

Living Arrangement, Gender, and Outcomes

et al., 2005; Kaya, 2004; Li et al., 2005). Multiinstitutional research would improve the generalizability of the ﬁndings.

Academic Success
Studies on the academic success of college students in the residential context have focused on
the personal and environmental predictors of
GPA (McCluskey-Titus & Oliver, 2001; Wang et
al., 2003) and the critical thinking and academic performance of students being inﬂuenced by
their living arrangement (Inman & Pascarella,
1998; Kuder, 1972; López Turley & Wodtke,
2010). In a study of the difference in the endof-ﬁrst-year critical thinking of on-campus and
commuter students, Inman and Pascarella
(1998) found no difference in critical thinking
as inﬂuenced by residence, gender, age, and
academic motivation. In regard to academic

Studies on residence hall attrition
found that poor living conditions,
such as small rooms, poor study
conditions, and lack of privacy,
inﬂuence students to move
off campus. In comparison,
social interactions, leadership
opportunities, and convenience
factors, such as proximity to
inﬂuence students to reapply for oncampus housing.

performance, López Turley and Wodtke (2010)
found that students who lived on campus
tended to earn greater ﬁrst-year GPAs than did
their peers who lived off campus. A study of
the relationship between the environmental
characteristics of a residence hall community
and academic performance (McCluskey-Titus
& Oliver, 2001) found that sense of belonging
was positively related to ﬂoor GPA; however,
the perceived study habits and interpersonal
connectedness of ﬂoor residents were not
related to ﬂoor GPA. In terms of gender differences, the researchers found that the semester
GPAs of residents who lived on all-women's
ﬂoors were higher than those of residents who
lived on all-men's ﬂoors. Considering that
previous research has found differences in
the academic performance of college students
that are related to residence (López Turley &
Wodtke, 2010) and gender (McCluskey-Titus &
Oliver, 2001), additional research is needed to
know if there is an interaction effect between
these variables.

Alcohol Use
The pre-college drinking behaviors of students
inﬂuence their drinking behaviors in college
(Cross et al., 2009; Fromme et al., 2008;
Larimer et al., 2000). Students who regularly
consumed alcohol in high school tended to
consume alcohol in college as well. Moreover,
researchers found that pre-college alcohol
use was related to choice of college residence
(Fromme et al., 2008; Larimer et al., 2000).
Students who regularly consumed alcohol in
high school tended to select living environments in college that enabled or facilitated
the consumption of alcohol. In terms of how
alcohol use is related to the physical environment, students who lived in coed residence
69

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1