- Female students in the male-dominated field of computer science may face a threatened social identity, which may make them more vulnerable to low academic achievement self-efficacy beliefs
- Belonging uncertainty seems to stem from both the doubts that a student has about their domain-specific social connectedness and their concerns about whether they can succeed in that domain

Macalester College

Students’ experienced sense of belonging has been shown to positively influence many aspects of education, including motivation, performance, retention, and general well-being
- Belonging Uncertainty: concern about the quality of one’s social ties or about whether one would be fully included in positive social relationships (note: this is separate from stereotype threat)
- Self-Efficacy Beliefs: a person’s confidence in his or her ability to accomplish certain tasks; these beliefs can influence career-related decisions

Belonging Uncertainty and Self-Efficacy

Höhne, E., & Zander, L. (2019). Sources of male and female students’ belonging uncertainty in the computer sciences. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01

Sources of male and female students’ belonging uncertainty in the computer sciences

- 449 computer science students (345 male, 104 female) at the Institute of Computer Science in Germany
- At two times a year apart, students completed two questionnaires with 5-point Likert scale responses on items specifically related to belonging uncertainty, affective and academic social exclusion, and academic self-efficacy, performance compared to other students, and academic performance  

Methods (Höhne & Zander, 2019)

- Female students reported higher levels of belonging uncertainty in computer science than their male counterparts
- Male students reported higher self-efficacy in computer science, and were more likely to rate their performance-related potential as above average
- Female students reported higher academic performance in high school than male students
- Social exclusion and gender were higher positively correlated with belonging uncertainty 
- The interaction between students’ perceived affective and academic exclusion by fellow students and gender was a significant predictor of belonging uncertainty
- Academic self-efficacy was a more relevant predictor of belonging uncertainty for female than male students 
- Social comparisons were predictive of belonging uncertainty for both males and females 

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