Optimizing support: Network churn and the evolution of undergraduate women’s mentorship in STEM

Megan S. Patterson; Qiyue Zhang; Emily V. Fischer; Sandra M. Clinton; Rebecca T. Barnes; Paul R. Hernandez

doi:10.2478/connections-2026-0003

.blurhash-client-img { display: none !important; }

Optimizing support: Network churn and the evolution of undergraduate women’s mentorship in STEM

Connections

Volume 47 (2026): Issue 1 (August 2026)

By: Megan S. Patterson, Qiyue Zhang, Emily V. Fischer, Sandra M. Clinton, Rebecca T. Barnes and Paul R. Hernandez

Open Access

|Sep 2026

Aikens, M. L., Sadselia, S., Watkins, K., Evans, M., Eby, L. T., & Dolan, E. L. (2016). A social capital perspective on the mentoring of undergraduate life science researchers: An empirical study of undergraduate–postgraduate–faculty triads. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar16. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.15-10-0208
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Baker, V. L., & Lattuca, L. R. (2010). Developmental networks and learning: Toward an interdisciplinary perspective on identity development during doctoral study. Studies in Higher Education, 35(7), 807–827. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903501887
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Benson, J. E. (2007). Make new friends but keep the old: Peers and the transition to college. Advances in Life Course Research, 12, 309–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-2608(07)12011-6
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Bloodhart, B., Balgopal, M. M., Casper, A. M. A., Sample McMeeking, L. B., & Fischer, E. V. (2020). Outperforming yet undervalued: Undergraduate women in STEM. PLoS One, 15(6), e0234685. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234685
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Borgatti, S. P., Everett, M. G., & Johnson, J. C. (2018). Analyzing social networks (2nd edn). SAGE.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Brown, E. R., Smith, J. L., Thoman, D. B., Allen, J. M., & Muragishi, G. (2015). From bench to bedside: A communal utility value intervention to enhance students’ biomedical science motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(4), 1116–1135. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000033
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Brown, W. C., Magaña, L., Crespo, C. J., & White, W. B. (2021). Mentoring underrepresented minoritized students for success. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 7(1_suppl), 20S–22S. https://doi.org/10.1177/23733799211054086
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Burt, R. S., & Merluzzi, J. (2016). Network oscillation. Academy of Management Discoveries, 2(4), 368–391. https://doi.org/10.5465/amd.2015.0108
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Byars-Winston, A., Dahlberg, M. L., & National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). (Eds.). (2019). The science of effective mentorship in STEMM. The National Academies Press.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Cotton, R. D., Shen, Y., & Livne-Tarandach, R. (2011). On becoming extraordinary: The content and structure of the developmental networks of major league baseball hall of famers. Academy of Management Journal, 54(1), 15–46. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.59215081
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Davidson, J., Davidson, R., & MacKinnon, J. G. (1995). Estimation and inference in econometrics. Economica, 62(245), 133. https://doi.org/10.2307/2554780
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
De Janasz, S. C., & Sullivan, S. E. (2004). Multiple mentoring in academe: Developing the professorial network. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64(2), 263–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2002.07.001
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Diekman, A. B., Brown, E. R., Johnston, A. M., & Clark, E. K. (2010). Seeking congruity between goals and roles: A new look at why women opt out of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. Psychological Science, 21(8), 1051–1057. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610377342
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Diekman, A. B., Steinberg, M., Brown, E. R., Belanger, A. L., & Clark, E. K. (2017). A goal congruity model of role entry, engagement, and exit: Understanding communal goal processes in STEM gender gaps. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 21(2), 142–175. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868316642141
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Dobrow, S. R., Chandler, D. E., Murphy, W. M., & Kram, K. E. (2012). A review of developmental networks: Incorporating a mutuality perspective. Journal of Management, 38(1), 210–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311415858
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Eby, L. T., Allen, T. D., Evans, S. C., Ng, T., & DuBois, D. L. (2008). Does mentoring matter? A multidisciplinary meta-analysis comparing mentored and non-mentored individuals. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72(2), 254–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2007.04.005
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Estrada, M., Woodcock, A., Hernandez, P. R., & Schultz, P. W. (2011). Toward a model of social influence that explains minority student integration into the scientific community. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(1), 206–222. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020743
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Feeney, M. K., & Bernal, M. (2010). Women in STEM networks: Who seeks advice and support from women scientists? Scientometrics, 85(3), 767–790. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-010-0256-y
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Grossman, J. B., & Rhodes, J. E. (2002). The test of time: Predictors and effects of duration in youth mentoring relationships. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014680827552
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hair, J. F. (Ed.). (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th edn). Pearson Prentice Hall.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hernandez, P. R., Bloodhart, B., Barnes, R. T., Adams, A. S., Clinton, S. M., Pollack, I., Godfrey, E., Burt, M., & Fischer, E. V. (2017). Promoting professional identity, motivation, and persistence: Benefits of an informal mentoring program for female undergraduate students. PLoS ONE, 12(11), e0187531. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187531
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hernandez, P. R. (2018). Landscape of assessments of mentoring relationship processes in postsecondary STEMM contexts: A synthesis of validity evidence from mentee, mentor, institutional/programmatic perspectives. Paper commissioned by the Committee on The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM. https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25568/the-science-of-effective-mentorship-in-stemm
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hernandez, P. R., Adams, A. S., Barnes, R. T., Bloodhart, B., Burt, M., Clinton, S. M., Du, W., Henderson, H., Pollack, I., & Fischer, E. V. (2020). Inspiration, inoculation, and introductions are all critical to successful mentorship for undergraduate women pursuing geoscience careers. Communications Earth & Environment, 1(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-0005-y
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hernandez, P. R., Patterson, M. S., Nyanamba, J. M., Adams, A. S., Barnes, R. T., Bloodhart, B., Burt, M., Clinton, S. M., Pollack, I. B., & Fischer, E. V. (2023). Webs of science: Mentor networks influence women’s integration into STEM fields. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 21(9), 404–410. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2666
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Higgins, M. C., & Kram, K. E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. The Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 264. https://doi.org/10.2307/259122
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hulleman, C. S., Godes, O., Hendricks, B. L., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2010). Enhancing interest and performance with a utility value intervention. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(4), 880–895. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019506
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Ibarra, H. (1999). Provisional selves: Experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(4), 764–791. https://doi.org/10.2307/2667055
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Jiang, X. (2021). Women in STEM: Ability, preference, and value. Labour Economics, 70, 101991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2021.101991
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Keller, T. E. (2005). A systemic model of the youth mentoring intervention. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 26(2), 169–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-005-1850-2
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Kricorian, K., Seu, M., Lopez, D., Ureta, E., & Equils, O. (2020). Factors influencing participation of underrepresented students in STEM fields: Matched mentors and mindsets. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00219-2
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Little, R. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83(404), 1198–1202. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1988.10478722
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Mishra, S. (2020). Social networks, social capital, social support and academic success in higher education: A systematic review with a special focus on ‘underrepresented’ students. Educational Research Review, 29, 100307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2019.100307
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
National Science Foundation. (2019). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering. National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Nugent, K. E., Childs, G., Jones, R., & Cook, P. (2004). A mentorship model for the retention of minority students. Nursing Outlook, 52(2), 89–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2003.09.008
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Packard, B. W., Walsh, L., & Seidenberg, S. (2004). Will that be one mentor or two? A cross‐sectional study of women’s mentoring during college. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 12(1), 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361126042000183039
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Pedersen, R., Woodcock, A., Schultz, P. W., & Hernandez, P. R. (2024). When perceived similarity overrides demographic similarity: Examining influences on STEM students’ developmental mentor networks. International Journal of STEM Education, 11(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00480-9
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Perez, T., Cromley, J. G., & Kaplan, A. (2014). The role of identity development, values, and costs in college STEM retention. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106(1), 315–329. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034027
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Perry, B. L., Pescosolido, B. A., & Borgatti, S. P. (2018). Egocentric network analysis: Foundations, methods, and models (Structural analysis in the social sciences). Cambridge University Press.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Saw, G. K. (2020). Leveraging social capital to broaden participation in STEM. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 7(1), 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732219895997
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Schultz, P. W., Hernandez, P. R., Woodcock, A., Estrada, M., Chance, R. C., Aguilar, M., & Serpe, R. T. (2011). Patching the pipeline: Reducing educational disparities in the sciences through minority training programs. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 33(1), 95–114. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373710392371
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Shook, N. J., & Clay, R. (2012). Interracial roommate relationships: A mechanism for promoting sense of belonging at university and academic performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(5), 1168–1172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.05.005
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Siciliano, M. D., Welch, E. W., & Feeney, M. K. (2018). Network exploration and exploitation: Professional network churn and scientific production. Social Networks, 52, 167–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2017.07.003
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Skahill, M. P. (2002). The role of social support network in college persistence among freshman students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 4(1), 39–52. https://doi.org/10.2190/LB7C-9AYV-9R84-Q2Q5
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Spencer, R. A., Rehman, L., & Kirk, S. F. (2015). Understanding gender norms, nutrition, and physical activity in adolescent girls: A scoping review. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 12(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-015-0166-8
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
StataCorp. (2023). Stata Statistical Software: Release 18 [Computer software]. StataCorp LLC.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Strayhorn, T. L. (2018). College students’ sense of belonging (2nd edn). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315297293
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Syed, M., Zurbriggen, E. L., Chemers, M. M., Goza, B. K., Bearman, S., Crosby, F. J., Shaw, J. M., Hunter, L., & Morgan, E. M. (2019). The role of self‐efficacy and identity in mediating the effects of STEM support experiences. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 19(1), 7–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12170
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2007). A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(1), 82–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.1.82
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Woodcock, A., Hernandez, P. R., Estrada, M., & Schultz, P. W. (2012). The consequences of chronic stereotype threat: Domain disidentification and abandonment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(4), 635–646. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029120
Open DOI Search in Google Scholar Back to article
World Economic Forum. (2024). Global gender gap report 2023. https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/
Search in Google Scholar Back to article

Authors

Additional files

Metrics

Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/connections-2026-0003 | Journal eISSN: 2816-4245 (formerly 0226-1766) | Journal ISSN: 0226-1766

Journal RSS Feed

Language: English

Page range: 23 - 38

Submitted on: Dec 4, 2025

Accepted on: Jul 16, 2026

Published on: Sep 2, 2026

Published by: International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA)

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

College students,

Developmental networks,

Mentor networks,

Network dynamics

Related subjects:

Social sciences,

Social sciences, other

© 2026 Megan S. Patterson, Qiyue Zhang, Emily V. Fischer, Sandra M. Clinton, Rebecca T. Barnes, Paul R. Hernandez, published by International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 47 (2026): Issue 1 (August 2026)