Short-Term Effects of Harassment, Racial Mistreatment, and Incivility (HARM) on Career-Derailing Attitudes: An...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Sciences
• Social Sciences
• Psychology

Background:

• Previous research highlights the detrimental impact of interpersonal mistreatment on student experiences, primarily through retrospective studies.
• However, the daily effects of such mistreatment and their potential to cause career derailment remain under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the immediate impact of experiencing multiple forms of interpersonal mistreatment, collectively termed HARM (Harassment, Abuse, Racism, Mistreatment), on career-relevant attitudes among biomedical health trainees.
• To examine the mediating role of negative affect in the relationship between HARM experiences and attitudes toward training programs.
• To explore how racial context (e.g., racial isolation, mentor race) influences the prevalence of HARM and its subsequent impact on trainees' attitudes.

Main Methods:

• An experience sampling methodology (ESM) was employed to capture daily experiences.
• A sample of 202 biomedical health trainees (mentees) funded by a National Institutes of Health fellowship participated.
• Data on daily HARM experiences, negative affect, and career-relevant attitudes were collected.

Main Results:

• Daily experiences of HARM were associated with an immediate degradation of trainees' attitudes toward their training programs, mediated by negative affect.
• Racial isolation within a lab or having a racially different mentor increased the prevalence of HARM.
• For trainees in racially well-represented groups, HARM experiences were positively associated with program attitudes after accounting for negative affect, suggesting a buffering effect of majority status.

Conclusions:

• Daily interpersonal mistreatment significantly impacts trainees' attitudes towards their programs, primarily through increased negative affect.
• Racial dynamics play a crucial role in the experience and impact of HARM, with majority status potentially offering a protective buffer.
• These findings underscore the importance of assessing and addressing daily mistreatment experiences to support graduate and postdoctoral trainees' career development.