Adaptive Appraisals: The Role of High Quality Supportive Interactions in Helping Students Cope with Adversity and Thrive in STEM

In the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), women and certain ethnic minorities are underrepresented and have higher rates of attrition in STEM education. STEM educators have combated this issue by creating programs that foster supportive relationships between STEM students, their peers, and faculty. However, little is known about how these relationships reduce STEM attrition. "Sense of belonging" is a key variable that may explain this process because it is related to perceptions of support and positive student outcomes, and can be eroded by negative experiences related to being stereotyped. Using a framework that conceptualizes social support as an interpersonal process, this study investigated how supportive interactions (i.e., self-disclosure, other-disclosure, perceived responsiveness) with individuals in STEM help students thrive in the face of adversity. This study examined how the interpersonal processes that underlie social support may help normalize experiences of hardship, promote sense of belonging, and increase intention to persist in STEM. Hypotheses were tested in a cross-sectional survey of 714 STEM university students. In terms of the interpersonal processes, perceived responsiveness accounted for unique variance in predicting sense of belonging in STEM, beyond self- and other-disclosure. A composite index of high quality social support was created by combining perceived responsiveness and self- and other-disclosure. High quality social support predicted thriving in STEM, sense of belonging, belonging certainty, and intention to persist. The relationship between high quality social support and thriving was mediated by the perception of adversity as a common experience. Furthermore, high quality social support was most frequently provided by STEM peers of similar demographic groups and predicted thriving in STEM equally well across these groups. This study illuminates the interpersonal processes behind how social support may lead to an increased sense of belonging. Specifically, this study highlights the critical role of high quality social support in helping to normalize students' experiences of adversity in STEM, which ultimately promotes thriving in STEM. These findings suggest that STEM programs should provide opportunities for STEM students to interact with each other, as these peer interactions likely help authenticate students' experiences of adversity, ultimately reducing attrition in STEM. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]