Harnessing Similarity for Quality Mentorship: Psychological and Demographic Similarity on Science Doctoral Students’ Mentoring Relationships

• In Event: Beyond Seeing Success: Exploring Optimal Features of Role Models and Mentors to Broaden STEM Participation

Abstract

Objectives and Theoretical Framework
Quality mentorship has advanced as one strategy to promote the development and training of students’ during STEM graduate education. A substantial body of research demonstrates that mentoring can lead to a constellation of beneficial attitudinal, behavioral, career, and health related outcomes (NASEM, 2019). Yet, despite the strong positive relationship between quality mentorship and favorable outcomes, far less is known about the factors that predict the formation of high-quality mentoring relationships. Similarity-attraction theory posits that individuals are attracted to and able to form higher quality relationships with individuals they perceive to be similar to themselves (Byrne, 1971). However, similarity between mentees and mentors can take different forms, including psychological similarity (e.g., shared values, beliefs, personality) and demographic similarity (e.g., shared gender, race/ethnicity) (Eby et al., 2008; 2013). The notion that similarity is prerequisite to forming quality mentoring relationships in STEM graduate education is problematic given the limited diversity of faculty members and increasing diversity of the graduate population (NCSES, 2023). However, mentors who demonstrate awareness of cultural diversity in their mentoring relationships may be able to develop fulfilling relationships with mentees from different backgrounds (Byars-Winston et al., 2018). The present study addresses this topic by examining the influence of mentee-mentor demographic similarity, psychological similarity, and cultural diversity awareness on mentorship quality.

Method
Participants were science doctoral students (n = 565) who represented a range of sociodemographic backgrounds (women = 57%; racial majority groups = 84%, and racial minority groups = 16%) from 70 universities across the United States. Participants completed established Likert-scale measures in an online questionnaire. We then used structural equation modeling to test relationships between mentoring antecedents and the career and psychosocial support and relationship quality that participants reported receiving from their research advisors.

Results and Significance
Our findings revealed that psychological similarity had a large, positive effect on perceptions of career support (ß = 0.32, p < 0.001), psychosocial support (ß = 0.69, p < 0.001), and relationship quality (ß = 0.71, p = < 0.001). Cultural diversity awareness positively predicted perceptions of career support (ß = 0.20, p < 0.001), psychosocial support (ß = 0.27, p < 0.001), and relationship quality (ß = 0.19, p = 0.004). Gender match was not significantly associated with any of our outcome variables. Race/ethnicity match was also not significantly associated with career support and was negatively associated with both psychosocial support (ß = -0.20, p < 0.001) and relationship quality (ß = -0.15 p = < 0.005). Post-hoc analyses suggest that racial/ethnic identity does not moderate the relationship between race/ethnicity similarity and mentoring support. These results highlight the potential benefits of pairing mentees and mentors on the basis of deep-level similarity, rather than demographic match. Our findings also indicate that doctoral students from racially marginalized identities can be effectively mentored by faculty who are demographic dissimilar if they engage in culturally aware mentorship.

Authors

• Trevor Tuma, University of Georgia

• Erin L. Dolan, University of Georgia