Support systems impacting the mental health of diverse women in biomedical science programs: An ecological approach

Biomedical doctoral trainees experience high rates of mental health distress compared to the general population. Minoritized students are particularly vulnerable to psychological stress during training due to systemic factors including discrimination, bullying, financial constraints, high workloads and constant critical feedback. As such, the mental health of minoritized biomedical trainees is both a social justice and health equity issue. We examined longitudinal narratives of 33 Asian, Black and Latiné women in biomedical doctoral programs to understand how they constructed support systems to manage psychological distress induced by training environments and how institutional agents can effectively support student psychological wellness. By examining the experiences of graduate students over time, we found that students expend time and energy to create support systems using a variety of resources. Using Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model, the findings show that constructing support can present challenges, particularly when norms and structures of biomedical training conflict with practices to foster good health. We present three themes: 1) students find authentic support through family, friends, and pre-PhD mentors; 2) students seek support from health professionals, though not all services were readily available or perceived as a good fit; and 3) fewer than half of participants experienced support for their mental health from PhD mentors (PIs of their lab).