Examining the Role of Institutional Support on International Doctoral Women's STEM Persistence and Mental Health

This study examined how advisor support, support from within one’s STEM milieu, and feelings of belonging in STEM influenced international doctoral women’s STEM persistence and psychological well-being. It was guided by an Intersectionality framework (Collins, 2002; Crenshaw, 1991), and our sample consisted of 118 international women students enrolled in U.S. based STEM doctoral programs. Path analysis revealed that the direct effects of advisor alliance on STEM persistence intentions, perceived support on belonging, and belonging on STEM persistence intentions were positive and significant while the direct effect of belonging on psychological distress was negative and significant. Results of our mediation analysis indicated that belonging was a statistically significant pathway in deepening our understanding of the relationship between support and psychological distress as well as with STEM persistence intentions. Overall, these results indicated that institutional support and feelings of belonging positively influenced international women doctoral students’ mental health and STEM persistence. Implications and recommendations for how STEM faculty can better support international women doctoral students are discussed.