Date of Conferral
2023
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Kimberly Mccann
Abstract
Women who are actively parenting and employed professionally comprise a significant number of the overall global doctorate population attempting to complete their dissertation. A Ph.D. in psychology requires years of commitment of which many women will never complete. The final dissertation phase of the degree process is infamous for being viewed by students as potentially isolative. There is a need to better understand how doctoral student mothers completing their dissertation in a Ph.D. psychology program experience social support. The research questions explored doctoral student mothers’ social support experiences as they completed their dissertation. Tinto’s social integration theory guided the overall study. A generic qualitative study was used with semi-structured interviews with nine doctoral student mothers. Data were analyzed through codes and resultant themes. The four identified themes were perseverance, relationships, self-doubt, and relatability. Gaining knowledge specific to the experiences of doctoral dissertation student mothers can enhance the opportunity for positive social change through students’ Ph.D. completion to make significant impact on our global community.
Recommended Citation
thomas, melissa anne, "The Experience of Social Support in Doctoral Dissertation Student Mothers" (2023). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 14918.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/14918
