Cross‐gender mentorship in clinical psychology doctoral programs: an exploratory survey study

Harden, Sherry L.; Clark, Richard A.F.; Johnson, W. Brad; Larson, Joshua

doi:10.1080/13611260903050239

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In a critical review of the sexual dynamics in mentoring relationships, Morgan and Davidson (2008) argue that since what characterizes a good mentoring relationship comes dangerously close to what characterizes a romantic relationship, cross-gender mentorships should be avoided so as to limit the number of opportunities for the mentoring relationship to go wrong. For instance, in a study of graduate students, Harden et al (2009) reported that cross-gender dyads were more likely to report negative experiences related to mentor seductiveness and difficulties in terminating the mentoring relationship.…”

Section: Women and Mentoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering trust in mentoring relationships: an exploratory study

Leck

Orser

2013

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal

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Purpose -Mentoring has been identified as a key strategy to career development and has been argued to be indispensable for women to advance to positions of power. For mentoring to succeed, it is imperative that mentors trust their protégés. However, recent research has suggested that male mentors trust their male protégés more so than their female protégés. Since women are frequently mentored by men, it is imperative that they gain the same level of trust as their male peers enjoy. According to an established model of trust, trust is shaped by the mentor's perceptions of protégé ability, benevolence and integrity, as well as perceptions of the risk inherent to mentoring. This exploratory research aims to examine what influences these perceptions to shed light on how protégés can gain the trust of their mentors. Design/methodology/approach -Because little research has been conducted in this area, an exploratory qualitative design was chosen. Mayer, Davis and Schoorman's model of organizational trust is used as the theoretical framework. Findings -This research sheds light on what predicts how trust is formed, fostered and lost in a mentoring context by examining factors that may influence perceptions of ability, benevolence, integrity and risk. Several protégé behaviors were identified that influenced perceptions of ability. Perceptions of benevolence were described as "feelings". Perceptions of integrity were influenced by keeping confidences. Finally contextual factors, such as gender, were also identified as influencing the level of trust.Research limitations/implications -The sample size was based on only 24 mentors; as a consequence, the findings are exploratory in nature and not generalizable. Practical implications -Trust has been identified as a critical component of an effective mentoring relationship. As a consequence, mentoring programs must include activities that assist in establishing and fostering trust between mentor and protégé. Social implications -Women are still under-represented in positions of power. Mentoring has been widely adopted as a mechanism to help women climb the corporate ladder. The lack of female mentors frequently means that female protégés have to be mentored by men. If women are to break the "glass ceiling," it is imperative that male mentors trust their female protégés to the same extent as their male protégés and provide them with the same career advancing opportunities. Originality/value -Very little research has examined the role of trust in mentoring, although trust has been identified as a critical element in other organizational activities, such as leadership, performance appraisal, labor-management relations, interpersonal cooperation, e-commerce transactions and self-managing work teams.

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Section: Women and Mentoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering trust in mentoring relationships: an exploratory study

Leck

Orser

2013

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal

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“…Mentoring is considered the most essential element to doctoral students' success in academe Creighton et al, 2010;Davis, 2008;Harden et al, 2009;Johnson & Huwe, 2003;Kurtz-Costes, Helmke, & Ulku-Steiner, 2006;Lunsford, 2012;Reddick, 2012). Unsurprisingly, researchers have attributed the high attrition rates for female doctoral candidates' program non-completion to the lack of mentors and quality mentoring programs (Dixon-Reeves, 2003;Edwards-Alexander, 2005;Garcia, 1999;Garvey, 1999;Hanna, 2005;Maher, Ford, & Thompson, 2004;Manuelito-Kerkvliet, 2005;Schwartz, Bower, Rice, & Washington, 2003).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…While there are ongoing discussions evaluating educational leadership preparation programmatic quality (Orr, 2012), few scholars examine mentoring approaches (Sherman & Grogan, 2011). Importantly, researchers are increasingly calling for an expansion of intentional conversations concerning gender identity in educational leadership preparation programs (Killingsworth, Cabezas, Kensler, & Brooks, 2010;Mansfield et al, 2010), along with work that looks at gender and other identity complexities such as race/ ethnicity within academe as a whole (Davis, 2008;Harden, Clark, Johnson, & Larson, 2009;Mansfield et al, 2010;Reddick, 2011;Schlosser & Foley, 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Mentoring Matters: An Exploratory Survey of Educational Leadership Doctoral Students’ Perspectives

Welton

Mansfield

Lee³

2014

Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning

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There is limited research on quantitative differences between men and women's experiences in doctoral programs. We aim to fill that gap by sharing findings from a webbased exploratory survey of perceived gender differences on quality mentoring in educational leadership doctoral programs. According to survey results, there is limited statistical significance in terms of gender differences in programmatic supports and scholarly progress. However, women experience feelings of self-doubt due to negative experiences with advising and mentoring, including difficulties making connections to a quality mentor. Furthermore, both female and male participants shared common definitions of what constitutes quality mentorship and believed mentorship was important, but lacking in varying degrees. Finally, all participants agreed that their educational leadership preparation programs should provide additional support in terms of writing and research development. Participants also shared important recommendations for strengthening mentoring experiences as well as future research methods and foci.

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“…The finding that feminine and androgynous personalities were associated with more authentic, engaged, and empowering relationship styles than less feminine personalities, collapsed across both men and women, supports those who have recommended examining masculine/feminine traits in research on sex differences (e.g., Unger, 1979). Variability in femininity may have played a role in the inconsistency of findings between studies regarding sex differences in relationship styles in other relationship domains (e.g., Genero et al, 1992;Neff & Harter, 2002, 2003 and regarding sex differences in the psychosocial support provided by academic (e.g., Harden et al, 2009;Tenenbaum et al, 2001) and workplace mentors (e.g., Allen & Eby, 2004;Burke & McKeen, 1996). Research on behavioural differences between the sexes may be making false assumptions regarding the underlying traits of participants.…”

Section: The Effects Of Power Sex and Gender Identity On Relationshmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…For example, Tenenbaum, Crosby and Gliner (2001) found that women mentors provided significantly more psychosocial support to their male and female student protégés. In contrast, Harden et al (2009) found that both male and female mentors provided more overall support to female students, and male mentors provided more psychosocial support in particular to female students than male students. Other research has failed to demonstrate any differences in the provision of mentoring support on the basis of either mentor or student sex (Ülkü-Steiner, Kurtz-Costes, & Kinlaw, 2000;Wilde and Schau, 1991).…”

Section: Faculty-graduate Student Mentoring Researchmentioning

confidence: 63%

The Influences of Sex, Gender Identity, and Power on Faculty-Graduate Student Relational Mentoring and its Association with Student Psychological Health

Gottschall¹

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Evidence suggests that university student psychological health problems may be increasing, and graduate students may be at increased risk for problems such as depression relative to the general population. The limited extant research has identified a correlation between relational mentoring characterized by mutual authenticity, engagement, and empowerment, and female undergraduate student psychological health.The current research fills gaps in the mentoring and feminist psychological literatures by examining this correlation in faculty-graduate student mentoring and testing key assumptions of relational-cultural theory, from which the concept of relational mentoring is derived. Relational-cultural theory assumes: 1) relational mentoring is more important to the psychological health of women than men, and 2) women are more likely than men to adopt a relationship style that would foster relational mentoring. This research was also informed by feminist critiques of these assumptions. Consequently, using a survey of 421 graduate students from various disciplines across Canada, Study 1 examined the association between faculty-graduate student relational mentoring and psychological health outcomes. Study 1 further tested the moderating effects of student sex, gender identity (i.e., masculine, feminine traits), and the power dynamics of the individual faculty-student relationships. A significant correlation was observed between relational mentoring and positive psychological health (i.e., decreased depressive symptoms, increased self-esteem and life satisfaction). This association was not moderated by student sex, gender identity, or relationship power dynamics. Using an online, experimental design and a sample of 186 undergraduate students, Study 2 examined the effects of sex, gender identity, and a randomly assigned power condition (i.e., high-power RELATIONAL MENTORING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH iii faculty mentor versus low-power student) on relationship styles in mentoring. Sex and gender identity influenced mentoring relationship styles (i.e., female participants and those with more feminine traits were associated with greater authenticity, engagement, and empowerment), and a notable interaction emerged. Specifically, sex differences in relationship style were observed in the high-power faculty mentor condition (i.e., female mentors were more authentic, engaged, empowering) but not the low-power student condition. Collectively, the results provide mixed support for relational-cultural theory.The results may be used to guide faculty-graduate student mentoring practices (e.g., student selection of mentors) to enhance graduate student psychological health. RELATIONAL MENTORING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH iv Acknowledgements This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support of several individuals and organizations. First, I must thank my thesis advisor and mentor, Dr. Shelley Brown, for her support in this process. I appreciate the insight and guidance provided by members of my committee, Dr. Fran Cher...

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Cross‐gender mentorship in clinical psychology doctoral programs: an exploratory survey study

Cited by 18 publications

References 29 publications

Fostering trust in mentoring relationships: an exploratory study

Fostering trust in mentoring relationships: an exploratory study

Mentoring Matters: An Exploratory Survey of Educational Leadership Doctoral Students’ Perspectives

The Influences of Sex, Gender Identity, and Power on Faculty-Graduate Student Relational Mentoring and its Association with Student Psychological Health

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