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Article History

Received: 6 February 2024

Accepted: 25 November 2024

First Online: 15 January 2025

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects at Universiti Putra Malaysia (JKEUPM), with approval reference number JKEUPM-2023-309. Approval was granted on July 6, 2023, before the start of the research, and is valid until July 6, 2024. The approval covers all aspects of the study, including participant recruitment, data collection, and data analysis, conducted within the study site in Zhejiang Province, China. All research procedures were conducted following the relevant guidelines and regulations applicable to human research, including the Declaration of Helsinki.

: Informed consent was obtained both orally and in writing from each first-generation college student (FGCS) participant before their involvement, conducted by the principal investigator or designated team members from July to October 2023. Eligibility required participants to be college seniors from rural China with a GPA of at least 3.0 and recognized for academic performance. Consent covered participation, data use, publication, and audio recording, with interviews conducted in Chinese for comfort and later translated into English. Participants were assured of confidentiality and anonymity, with pseudonyms and redacted identifying information. They were also provided with the researcher’s email address and mobile number for any further inquiries. No vulnerable groups, minors, or incentives were involved. The consent process and all procedures adhered to ethical guidelines to ensure participant rights and data integrity.