Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
DOI
10.33009/fsop_jpss138389
Publication Title
Journal of Postsecondary Student Success
Volume
5
Issue
2
Pages
56-84
Abstract
Students often struggle to employ effective learning and study strategies in postsecondary settings that challenge their academic success. These struggles can be amplified depending on student characteristics like gender and ethnicity. One way to improve their success is an awareness they may need help and how to most productively use this help. We sought to understand students’ patterns of help-seeking behaviors as well as whether these patterns differed by gender and ethnicity. The researcher-developed Academic Help-Seeking Inventory (AHSI) was designed to measure academic help-seeking. Participants were 249 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at two East Coast public universities. An exploratory factor analysis supported five scales or constructs: (a) Inclination to Seek Help, (b) Positive Task Interest/Value, (c) Negative Task Interest/Value, (d) Monitoring Need for Help, and (e) Adaptive Recording. Students scored highest on the Positive Task Interest/Value scale followed by Inclination to Seek Help. In terms of demographic differences, we found that women scored higher on monitoring when to seek help. Low task interest/value were more likely to impede help-seeking among women and Black students. Finally, Black students were more inclined to seek help compared to White students.
Rights
Copyright © 2026 Stephanie Greenquist-Marlett, Linda Bol, Claire Consadine, Courtney Hill.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.
Original Publication Citation
Greenquist-Marlett, S., Bol, L., Consadine, C., & Hill, C. (2026). An exploration of academic help-seeking among postsecondary students: Differences by gender and ethnicity. Journal of Postsecondary Student Success, 5(2), 56-84. https://doi.org/10.33009/fsop_jpss138389
ORCID
0009-0002-9193-7730 (Greenquist-Marlett), 0009-0001-4347-2302 (Bol), 0009-0009-8104-9167 (Consadine), 0009-0007-9816-7077 (Hill)
Repository Citation
Greenquist-Marlett, Stephanie; Bol, Linda; Consadine, Claire; and Hill, Courtney, "An Exploration of Academic Help-Seeking Among Postsecondary Students: Differences by Gender and Ethnicity" (2026). STEMPS Faculty Publications. 420.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/stemps_fac_pubs/420
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Gender Equity in Education Commons