Familial roles and support of doctoral students

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Bridget A. Walsh,Sarah Mitchell,Ruby Batz,Angela Lee,Matthew Aguirre,Julie Lucero,Adrienne Edwards,Keira Hambrick,David W. Zeh
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12848

RESEARCH

Familial roles and support of doctoral students

Bridget A. Walsh

1

|Sarah Mitchell

1

|Ruby Batz

1

|Angela Lee

1

|

Matthew Aguirre

1

|Julie Lucero

2

|Adrienne Edwards

3

|

Keira Hambrick

4

|David W. Zeh

5

1

Human Development and Family Science,

University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV

2

College of Health, University of Utah,

Salt Lake City, UT

3

Human Development and Family Studies,

Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC

4

Department of English, The Ohio State

University, Columbus, OH

5

Department of Biology, University of

Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV

Correspondence

Bridget A. Walsh, Human Development and

Family Science, Mail Stop 0140, Reno, NV

89557, USA.

Email: bridgetw@unr.edu

Funding information

Funding for this work was provided by the

National Science Foundation–Innovations in

Graduate Education (NSF-IGE), Grant/

Award Number: #1856189

Abstract

Objective: Identify the role(s) and support(s), if any, that

family members provide to first-generation and historically

marginalized doctoral students, including strengths and

challenges of this support.

Background: Nonfinancial family support is important for

the success and retention of first-generation and histori-

cally marginalized graduate students. More empirical stud-

ies of the role(s) and support of family members of these

doctoral students are needed.

Method: During an intervention designed for first-

generation and historically marginalized doctoral students

and their families, we conducted four focus groups with

doctoral students (n=22) and three focus groups with the

family members they chose to accompany them (n=15).

Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: Two themes emerged from the data: support and

connection. In addition to providing distinct types of sup-

port, families play both supportive and connective roles.

There are challenges to family roles and support in areas

such as communication, doctoral student stress, and differ-

ent ways that family members and doctoral students think

about and approach life.

Conclusion: The study provided key insights to under-

standing the roles and support of family of doctoral stu-

dents; more efforts are needed across graduate schools in

the United States.

Implications: Family science faculty and graduate schools

may collaborate to provide meaningful interventions for

graduate students and their families for the goal of pro-

moting graduate student retention and success.

Received: 29 January 2022Revised: 25 July 2022Accepted: 31 December 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12848

© 2023 National Council on Family Relations.

2444 Family Relations. 2023;72:2444–2464.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare

Doctoral degree completion is an area of intense research interest. Although many students

have the academic ability to complete their degree, nearly a quarter of students pursuing doc-

toral studies are not able to finish (Council of Graduate Schools, 2021). Completing doctoral

requirements requires support from a variety of sources, and family support for doctoral stu-

dents is a growing area of interest (Baldwin et al., 2021; Breitenbach et al., 2019; Walsh

et al., 2021). Support from family has been shown to be a major contributor to doctoral degree

completion (Sowell, 2009). Lack of family support also influences degree persistence

(Cohen, 2011). Social support, or the amount of perceived support a person receives from

within their social network, plays an important buffering role between adverse events and physi-

cal and mental health (Lee & Goldstein, 2016). Social support is a central element of relation-

ships where individuals provide aid, assistance, and comfort to others (Cohen et al., 1985).

Furthermore, Lee and Goldstein (2016) reported that the source of support also matters to the

buffering effect. Family members including friends are important for providing social support

to graduate students (Tompkins et al., 2016).

The concept of social support emerged from the family stress theoretical framework (Cooke

et al., 1988). House (1981) conceptualized social support as an “interpersonal transaction”

between individuals that reflects the following characteristics (i.e., subtypes of social support):

emotional, appraisal, informational, and instrumental (see also House et al., 1988). House’s

(1981) conceptualization of social support is used here as a framework to understand which per-

ceived supports are available to first-generation and historically marginalized doctoral students.

Emotional support includes listening to concerns, sharing common life experiences, and having

a sense of belonging and being cared for. Having access to networks of peers, friends, and fam-

ily members who understand or support the graduate student’s experience is key to student

retention and potential success (Ong et al., 2011,2020). Research has shown that the less sup-

port a college student has, the less likely they are to progress in their education (Dennis

et al., 2005). This is especially true for graduate students, whose educational journeys are often

misunderstood because few are aware of the complexities of graduate education, particularly

for historically marginalized groups and first-generation college students (Miner, 2022).

First-generation college students are undergraduate students whose parents do not have a

bachelor’s degree or higher (Center for First-Generation Student Success, n.d.; Dennis

et al., 2005; Tompkins et al., 2016). Those students may find it difficult to convey their studies

and responsibilities to others, such as friends and family who in turn may not be able to provide

support as needed. Definitions of first-generation students do not necessarily include other iden-

tity markers (i.e., race, class, sex, ethnicity) as defining features. In other words, first-generation

students can be from low-, middle-, or high-income families of any race or ethnicity. Through-

out this article, we also refer to historically marginalized graduate students—those who have

been or continue to be institutionally and systematically denied full participation in mainstream

social, political, and economic life based on their race, ethnicity, sex, gender, or other character-

istic (Felder, 2019). Tan et al. (2019) posited that appraisal support from peers may be particu-

larly necessary for historically marginalized doctoral students to reduce psychological distress.

Appraisal support is providing feedback about performance or personal characteristics. Infor-

mational support is advice, guidance, and resources. Navigating postsecondary education may

be more challenging for first-generation students than for students who can access informa-

tional support from relatives who have completed college degrees (Glass, 2023). Finally, instru-

mental support is the ability to secure material goods or services, such as financial assistance

and costs associated with graduate education (e.g., tuition, textbooks) as well as costs of living

while in graduate school (e.g., housing, meals). House’s four subtypes of support are important

but need to be considered according to differences in population type, such as first-generation

students as well as those from historically marginalized groups.

Approximately half of college students identify as first-generation students (Center for First-

Generation Student Success, n.d.). First-generation graduate students often struggle with the same

FAMILIAL ROLES AND SUPPORT OF DOCTORAL STUDENTS2445