Although higher education has become more accessible to people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, the transition to university is more difficult for first- compared to continuing-generation students. Previous research showed that social identity processes are key to understand differences between first- and continuing-generation students’ experiences at university. In the present paper, we argue that social background identity concealment may occur as a coping process among first-generation students. A longitudinal study among 829 first-year university students showed that first-generation students indeed concealed their social background at university more than continuing-generation students. This was especially the case when they had experienced concerns about their social belonging at university, indicating that identity concealment resulted from concerns to fit in at university. Finally, social background concealment was related to a decrease in well-being, suggesting that concealment is a costly social identity management strategy. Instead, universities should put in efforts to increase first-generation students’ sense of belonging.

尽管社会经济背景较低的人更容易接受高等教育，但与继代学生相比，第一代学生更难以过渡到大学。先前的研究表明，社会认同过程是了解第一代和继代学生在大学经历之间差异的关键。在本文中，我们认为社会背景身份隐藏可能作为第一代学生的应对过程而发生。一项针对 829 名大学一年级学生的纵向研究表明，第一代学生确实比继代学生更隐瞒了他们在大学的社会背景。尤其是当他们在大学经历过对社会归属感的担忧时，表明身份隐藏是出于对适应大学的担忧。最后，社会背景隐藏与幸福感下降有关，这表明隐藏是一种代价高昂的社会身份管理策略。相反，大学应该努力增加第一代学生的归属感。