<p> </p> <p> Graduate student-parents face numerous challenges, such as balancing their parent, student, and worker roles, and often having to “prove” themselves as serious students and parents. Although these challenges are potentially life-changing and can lead to high graduate student attrition rates, research on the social, academic, and work-related experiences of graduate student-parents is scarce. Through this dissertation, I aimed to shed light on an often overlooked population. </p> <p> This dissertation is presented in the form of two distinct articles conceptually related in nature. The first article integrates literature from various fields relevant to graduate student-parents. Through a critique of the existing literature, I noted three significant issues: (a) a lack of focus on the experiences of graduate student fathers, (b) a lack of focus on intersectionality, and (c) a virtual nonexistence of how psychologists can bridge the gap between research findings and policy change. The article ends with suggestions for practitioners in university counseling center settings. </p> <p> The purpose of the second article is to examine whether advisor support buffers the relations between parent-based discrimination and emotional, work-, and family-related outcomes. I hypothesized that the indirect effect between perceived discrimination and SFC/WFC via burnout will be significant and positive at low levels of academic advisor support. I also hypothesized that the simple indirect effect of perceived discrimination on SFC/WFC will be moderated by gender such that the indirect pathway will be stronger and more positive for women than for men. Data were collected on a sample of 261 graduate student-parents using an online survey. Results indicated that burnout mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and school- and work-family conflict. Neither advisor support or gender moderated the mediated relationship between perceived discrimination and school-and work-family conflict. Practical and clinical implications are discussed, in addition to suggestions for future research. </p>

The purposes of this study were 1) to determine the field dependence/independence preference (FD/FI) of selected master's students and their choice of academic discipline, 2) to determine the FD/FI of selected master's students and their areas of specialization within their discipline (kinesiology, health promotion, recreation), 3) to determine the relationship between FD/FI and GRE scores, and 4) to determine the relationship between FD/FI and cumulative GPA. The Witkin Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) was used to test for FD/FI.

Previous research found that relationship quality (RQ) for intimate couples may be adversely effected in times of stress, potentially decreasing marital satisfaction up to 36% during a four-year period for high stress couples. Previous research indicated family values (FV) may mediate RQ in stressful times; however, no research has examined this relationship for online/blended program graduate students. Students in these programs experience unique stress, change, and at times, physical distance from an intimate partner. Coombs's theory on values consensus postulated that the more alike family values are in a relationship, the better the RQ will be. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine differences between graduate students in online/blended programs and their partners in RQ and FV. Forty-five participants were surveyed using convenience sampling through a university participant pool. The majority of the online/blended program graduate participants were Caucasian and female. Variables were measured using the Family Assessment Device (FAD), the Perceived Relationship Quality Components Scale (PRQC), and demographic information. Mean scores for FAD were elevated indicating dysfunction in FV. A hierarchical multiple linear regression tested the hypothesis that family values are associated with RQ for study participants. The PRQC and FAD were significantly and negatively associated (R = -.80, α = .05) indicating as FAD increases PRQC decreases. Online/blended program students may need supports to maintain FV to mediate decreases in RQ during graduate study. Identifying FV impacts RQ can assist in the development of more targeted intervention, design, planning, and implementation of online and hybrid student assistance programs.

The Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program is a U.S. Department of Education TRIO Program, funded at 152 institutions across the United States and Puerto Rico. In 2013, total funding reached over $35 million--of which, Portland State University received approximately $211,000 (US Department of Education, 2013). The program's goal is to introduce first-generation, low-income, under-represented group college students to effective strategies for succeeding in doctoral programs so they may become professors and create a more supportive environment for future non-traditional students. One way to explore program effectiveness beyond completion of the McNair Program is to ask the McNair Scholars themselves about program impact. This comparative interview study explores McNair graduates' understandings of issues they face in adjusting to graduate school and how participation in the McNair Program prepared them to address these issues. Typically, McNair program evaluations emphasize the collection and analysis of quantitative data - e.g. graduate school enrollment and degree attainment. However, little qualitative research has been conducted on graduate's perceptions of the impact of program participation on their graduate school experiences. This study, which uses Bourdieu's Theory of Social Reproduction, along with the sociology-based ideas of role-as-resource, role mastery, and expertise development, explores students' perceptions of the McNair Program's effectiveness in regards to helping them understand the "graduate student" role and use that role to succeed in graduate school and beyond.

This research explores the events and circumstances that lead to persistence and departure within the sociology master's program at Portland State University. It examines how individual and institutional characteristics interact and influence student decisions to dropout or continue in the master's program. It utilizes Vincent Tinto's (1993) theories of persistence and departure and his concepts of social and academic integration as they apply to sociology master's students. The purpose of the research was to describe how students became socially and academically integrated and how integration influenced patterns of persistence of departure. The aim also was to determine whether background variables such as undergraduate GPA, cumulative master's GPA, enrollment status, and career and educational goals influenced student outcomes.

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At its core, mental wellbeing refers to positive self-perception, effective coping with challenges and positive social interactions. International students mental wellbeing can be negatively impacted as they face additional challenges compared with domestic students, such as cultural and social differences. The research aimed to integrate mental wellbeing elements into a web application for international students at KTH, as there is a lack of services for this specific target group. Using a user-centered design (UCD) approach, Lull, was designed and developed to include multiple features related to university services, mindfulness, self-reflection and social interactions. The evaluation results showed a high level of usability and a positive feedback from participants in integrating wellbeing elements. The semi-guided chats were able to create a sense of community and were perceived as the most important feature. Finally, a need for targeted services for international graduate students was highlighted along with the potential of digital platforms complementing traditional services, rather than replacing them. / I grund och botten handlar psykiskt välbefinnande om positiv självuppfattning, effektiv hantering av utmaningar och positiva sociala sociala interaktioner. Internationella studenters mentala välbefinnande kan påverkas negativt eftersom de möter ytterligare utmaningar jämfört med inhemska studenter, till exempel kulturella och sociala skillnader. Forskningen syftade till att integrera mentala välbefinnande i en webbapplikation för internationella masterstudenter vid KTH, eftersom det finns en brist på tjänster för denna specifika målgrupp. Med hjälp av en användarcentrerad design designades och utvecklades "Lull" för att inkludera flera funktioner relaterade till mindfulness, självreflektion och sociala interaktioner. Utvärderingsresultaten resultaten visade en hög nivå av användbarhet och en positiv feedback från deltagarna när det gäller att integrera välbefinnandeelement. De halvstyrda chattarna kunde skapa en känsla av gemenskap och uppfattades som den viktigaste funktionen. Slutligen framhölls ett behov av riktade tjänster för internationella masterstudenter tillsammans med potentialen hos digitala plattformar som kompletterar traditionella tjänster snarare än att ersätta dem.

“Under Wendy Bishop’s Eye” examines the teaching, learning, and social environment of a graduate student in an American creative writing MFA program in the early years of the 21st century. This dissertation is a work of autofiction; it is both an autoethnography and a fictionalized story written in the form of a novel. The project uses the scholarship of writing studies’ leader Wendy Bishop to discuss and analyze the dynamics of graduate student learning in creative writing courses, undergraduate learning in creative writing courses, graduate student teaching in creative writing courses, and graduate student teaching in expository writing or first-year composition courses at a four-year college. The project addresses the limitations of the “workshop method” for teaching creative writing, while supporting the benefits of writing pedagogy that includes cross-genre writing exercises in all university-level writing courses, specifically bringing “personal writing” and creative non-fiction into both creative writing and first-year composition course.