Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2016, pp. 193--226 Polyculturalism among Undergraduates at Diverse Universities: Associations through Intergroup Anxiety with Academic and Alcohol Outcomes Lisa Rosenthal* Pace University Sheri R. Levy and Bonita London Stony Brook University Melissa A. Lewis University of Washington U.S. universities are increasingly racially/ethnically diverse. Simultaneously, un- dergraduate graduation rates and alcohol use remain important concerns. Under- standing factors that contribute to success and well-being among students in these diverse college settings is critical to informing educational policy and program- ming. Polyculturalism is the belief that different racial/ethnic groups have always interacted, exchanged, and influenced each other, and it has been associated with more positive intergroup attitudes and greater comfort with diversity. Across four studies (three cross-sectional, one longitudinal) with racially/ethnically diverse undergraduates at two diverse institutions in the Northeastern United States, con- trolling for potentially confounding variables (year in college, age, race/ethnicity, nativity, high school GPA, current GPA, endorsement of multiculturalism and col- orblindness, self-esteem, ethnic identification, general social anxiety, and mood across time points), greater endorsement of polyculturalism was associated with greater academic self-efficacy, greater sense of belonging, less use of alcohol to cope with intergroup anxiety, and fewer adverse alcohol-related consequences; ∗Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lisa Rosenthal, Psychology Department, Pace University, 41 Park Row, 13th Floor, Room 1317, New York, NY 10038 [e-mail:
[email protected]]. Acknowledgments: The authors thank Joanne Davila, Antonio Freitas, and Lindsey Levitan for their feedback on this line of work as a part of Lisa Rosenthal’s dissertation committee.