Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 28, 2026

A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mentoring Interventions for Underrepresented Minorities
Vivian Lewis1, Camille A Martina, Michael P McDermott
1V. Lewis is professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and vice provost for faculty development and diversity, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York. C.A. Martina is research assistant professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York. M.P. McDermott is professor, Departments of Biostatistics and Computational Biology and Neurology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York. P.M. Trief is professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Medicine, and senior associate dean for faculty affairs and faculty development, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York. S.R. Goodman is professor, Department of Pediatrics and Physiology, and vice chancellor for research, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis Tennessee. G.D. Morse is SUNY distinguished professor of pharmacy practice, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York. J.G. LaGuardia is affiliated with the Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California. D. Sharp is professor of clinical nursing, University of Rochester School of Nursing, Rochester, New York. R.M. Ryan is professor, Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.
Mentor training showed a short-term boost in psychological need satisfaction for underrepresented scholars. However, neither mentor training nor peer mentoring had lasting effects on academic satisfaction.
Area of Science:
- Academic Medicine
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Underrepresented minorities and women face unique challenges in academia.
- Mentorship is crucial for career development and satisfaction.
- Basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy, relatedness) are vital for well-being and performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of different mentoring interventions on the basic psychological need satisfaction of underrepresented minorities and women in academia.
- To compare the effectiveness of mentor training, peer mentoring, and a combined approach against a control group.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 150 mentor/protégé dyads from academic institutions.
- Interventions included mentor training (based on self-determination theory), peer mentoring, combined training, or usual practice.
- Protégés, from underrepresented groups, completed online questionnaires every two months for one year.
Main Results:
- No significant long-term effects of mentor training or peer mentoring on overall psychological need satisfaction were observed after one year.
- Exploratory analysis indicated a significant short-term positive effect of mentor training on protégés' satisfaction with their mentor at two months.
Conclusions:
- Mentor training may offer a temporary improvement in the psychological need satisfaction of underrepresented scholars with their mentors.
- While not sustained, these short-term findings suggest the feasibility of such interventions and warrant further investigation.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
Randomized Experiments
Simple randomization
Simple...
Group Design
Observational Studies
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One...
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Operant Conditioning Intervention
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...

