The role of research training environment, past research attitudes, and mentoring relationships in predicting current research attitudes and behaviors

This study investigated the role that mentoring relationships with faculty play in the research training of counseling psychology doctoral students. The study proposed and tested a structural equation model that incorporated faculty mentoring into Gelso's theory of the Research Training Environment (RTE). This investigation specifically explored the following question: Do mentoring relationships with faculty make a significant contribution to students' current research attitudes and behaviors, above and beyond the influences of RTE and past research attitudes? Two hundred doctoral students completed mailed surveys investigating participants' mentoring attitudes, the research training environment, past and current research attitudes, and mentoring relationships with faculty. Initial testing of the proposed measurement model indicated some measurement problems, so the proposed model was revised to obtain satisfactory fit. Testing of the structural model yielded adequate fit (CFI = .94) and showed students' mentoring attitudes and their perceptions of the research training environment as predictors of their mentoring relationships. Participants' past research attitudes and their mentoring relationships predicted their current research attitudes and behaviors, with mentoring relationships contributing 18% towards current research attitudes. The results suggest that the research training environment indirectly influences students' current research attitudes but directly predicts 60% of faculty mentoring. Psychosocial elements emerged as the primary descriptor of participants' mentoring relationships with faculty. Implications for faculty who wish to promote students' research development and for doctoral students seeking research mentors are discussed.