Abstract
This article asks what makes PhD completers resilient and which resilience protection factors help them complete their doctoral programme? A narrative inquiry methodology is applied to capture the experiences of eleven doctoral students who completed their PhDs in the United Kingdom. Data collected from interview conversations were analysed using resilience theory as a lens. We found that for these completers, success did not rely solely on the individual student, nor was the role of supervisors elevated, particularly for social and emotional support. Of importance were the students’ family and social network, institutional context and the nature of university central services and how these were available to the completers. The study’s contribution to the literature is in showing how the inter-relationship of the completers’ personal responses, environmental and social connections, and institutional processes was available to build resilience, as we present a model for resilience protection in doctoral students. We hope the findings presented will be of interest to PhD students, supervisors and other academic colleagues in universities globally, as they seek insights into successful PhD completion.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, R., & Lee. (2001). The concept of self: a study of black identity and self-esteem. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. American Psychiatric Association.
Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122.
Block, J., & Kremen, A. M. (1996). IQ and ego-resiliency: conceptual and empirical connections and separateness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 349–361.
Call, K. T. (1996). Adolescent work as an 'area of comfort' under conditions of family discomfort. In J. Mortimer & M. Finch (Eds.), Adolescents, work and family – an intergenerational developmental analysis. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Cantwell, R. H., Bourke, S. F., Scevak, J. J., Holbrook, A. P., & Budd, J. (2017). Doctoral candidates as learners: a study of individual differences in responses to learning and its management. Studies in Higher Education, 42(1), 47–64.
Cassidy, S. (2016). The academic. resilience scale (ARS-30): a new multidimensional construct measure. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1787.
Chase, S. E. (2018). Narrative inquiry: toward theoretical and methodological maturity. In The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 546–560).
Chen, A. C.-C., Szalacha, L. A., & Menon, U. (2014). Perceived discrimination and its associations with mental health and substance use among Asian American and Pacific islander undergraduate and graduate students. Journal of American College Health, 62(6), 390–398.
Cicchetti, D., & Garmezy, N. (1993). Prospects and promises in the study of resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 5(4), 497–502.
Clandinin, D. J. (2013). Engaging in narrative inquiry. Abingdon: Routledge.
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry – experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Clandinin, D. J., & Rosiek, J. (2007). Mapping a landscape of narrative inquiry: Borderland spaces and tensions. In D. J. Clandinin (Ed.), Handbook of narrative inquiry: mapping a methodology (pp. 35–75). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Cooper, C. (2014). Building resilience for success: A resource for managers and organizations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Corzine, E., Figley, C., Marks, R., Cannon, C., Lattone, V., & Weatherly, C. (2017). Identifying resilience axioms: Israeli experts on trauma resilience. Traumatology, 23(1), 4–9.
Deuchar, R. (2008). Facilitator, director or critical friend?: contradiction and congruence in doctoral supervision styles. Teaching in Higher Education, 13, 489–500.
Devos, C., Boudrenghien, G., Van der Linden, N., Azzi, A., Frenay, M., Galand, B., & Klein, O. (2017). Doctoral students’ experiences leading to completion or attrition: a matter of sense, progress and distress. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 32(1), 61–77.
Dias, P. C., & Cadime, I. (2017). Protective factors and resilience in adolescents: the mediating role of self-regulation. Psicología Educativa, 23(1), 37–43.
Edwards, T., Catling, J. C., & Parry, E. (2016). Identifying predictors of resilience in students. Psychology Teaching Review, 22(1), 26–33.
Elder, G., & Caspi, A. (1987). Human development and social change: an emerging perspective on the life course. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2003). Resilience to childhood adversity: results of a 21-year study. Resilience and vulnerability: adaptation in the context of childhood adversities, pp.130-155. In S. Luthar (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: adaptation in the context of childhood adversities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Garmezy, N. (1991). Resilience in children's adaptation to negative life events and stressed environments. Pediatric Annals, 20(9), 459–466.
Garrett, P. M. (2016). Questioning tales of 'ordinary magic': 'resilience' and neoliberal reasoning. British Journal of Social Work, 46, 1909–1925.
Gergen, K. J., Josselson, R., & Freeman, M. (2015). The promises of qualitative inquiry. American Psychologist, 70(1), 1.
Gill, R., & Orgad, S. (2018). The amazing bounce-backable woman: resilience and the psychological turn in neoliberalism. Sociological Research Online, 23(2), 477–495.
Harrison, E. (2013). Bouncing back? Recession, resilience and everyday lives. Critical Social Policy, 33, 97–113.
Herbers, J. E., Cutuli, J. J., Supkoff, L. S., Narayan, A. J., & Masten, A. S. (2014). Trauma, adversity, and parent–child relationships among young children experiencing homelessness. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42(7), 681–692.
Hopwood, N. (2010). A socio-cultural view of doctoral students’ relationships and agency. Studies in Continuing Education, 32(2), 103–117.
Hunter, K. H., & Devine, K. (2016). Doctoral students’ emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave academia. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 11, 35–61.
Jenson, J. M., Alter, C. F., Nicotera, N., Anthony, E. K., & Forrest-Bank, S. S. (2013). Risk, resilience, and positive youth development: developing effective community questioning tales of ‘ordinary magic’ bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/ downloaded from programs for at-risk youth: Lessons from the Denver bridge project, New York, Oxford University.
Josselson, R. (2011). Narrative research: constructing, deconstructing, and reconstructing story. In K. Charmaz & L. M. McMullen (Eds.), Five ways of doing qualitative analysis (pp. 224–242). New York: Guilford Press.
Kanevsky, L., Corke, M., & Frangkiser, L. (2008). The academic resilience and psychosocial characteristics of inner-city english learners in a museum-based school program. Education and Urban Society, 40(4), 452–475.
Kiziela, A., Viliūnienė, R., Friborg, O., & Navickas, A. (2019). Distress and resilience associated with workload of medical students. Journal of Mental Health, 28(3), 319–323.
Kyvik, S., & Olsen, T. B. (2014). Increasing completion rates in Norwegian doctoral training: multiple causes for efficiency improvements. Studies in Higher Education, 39(9), 1668–1682.
Levecque, K., Anseel, F., De Beuckelaer, A., Van der Heyden, J., & Gisle, L. (2017). Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Research Policy, 46(4), 868–879.
Liechty, J., Liao, M., & Schull, C. (2009). Facilitating dissertation completion and success among doctoral students in social work. Journal of Social Work Education, 45(3), 481–497.
Litalien, D., & Guay, F. (2015). Dropout intentions in PhD studies: a comprehensive model based on interpersonal relationships and motivational resources. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 41, 218–231.
Luthans, F. (2002). The need for and meaning of positive organisational behavior. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 23, 695–706.
Luthar, S. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2000). The construct of resilience: implications for interventions and social policies. Development and Psychopathology, 12(4), 857–885.
Magano, M. D. (2011). Narratives on challenges of female black postgraduate students. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(4), 365–376.
Martin, A. J. (2013). Academic buoyancy and academic resilience: exploring ‘everyday’ and ‘classic’ resilience in the face of academic adversity. School Psychology International, 34, 488–500.
Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1998). The Development of Competence in Favorable and Unfavorable Environments: Lessons from Research on Successful Children. American Psychologist, 53, 205–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.53.2.205
McAlpine, L., & Norton, J. (2006). Reframing our approach to doctoral programs: an integrative framework for action and research. Higher Education Research and Development, 25(1), 3–17.
McCray, J., Palmer, A., & Chmiel, C. (2016). Building resilience in health and social care teams. Personnel Review, 45(6).
Mohaupt, S. (2009). Resilience and social exclusion. Social Policy and Society, 8(1), 63–71.
Mowbray, C., & Halse, S. (2010). The purpose of the PhD: theorising the skills acquired by students. Journal of Higher Education Research and Development, 29(6), 653–664.
Murphy, N., Bain, J., & Conrad, L. (2007). Orientations to research higher degree supervision. Higher Education, 53, 209–234.
Parks-Savage, A., Archer, L., Newton, H., Wheeler, E., & Huband, S. R. (2018). Prevention of medical errors and malpractice: is creating resilience in physicians part of the answer? International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 60, 35–39.
Patel, V., Flisher, A. J., Hetrick, S., & McGorry, P. (2007). Mental health of young people: a global public-health challenge. Lancet, 369–380.
Pearson, M., & Brew, A. (2002). Research training and supervision development. Studies in Higher Education, 2(1), 135–150.
Pilling, D. (1990). Escape from Disadvantage. Basingstoke: Falmer Press.
Posselt, J. (2018). Normalizing struggle: dimensions of faculty support for doctoral students and implications for persistence and well-being. The Journal of Higher Education, 89(6), 988–1013.
Resnick, B. (2014). Resilience in older adults. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 30(3), 155–163.
Richardson, G. E. (2002). The metatheory of resilience and resiliency. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(3), 307–321.
Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Rogerson, M., & Ermes, C. (2008). Fostering resilience within an adult day support program of activities. Adaptation and Aging, 32(1), 1–18.
Rutter, M. (2006). Implications of resilience concepts for scientific understanding. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094, 1–12.
Shin, J. I., Chae, J. H., & Min, J. A. (2012). Resilience as a possible predictor for psychological distress in chronic spinal cord injured patients living in the community. Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine. Vol, 36, 815–820.
Sørensen, H. T. (2016). I-determinants for a successful PhD or postdoctoral outcome. Clinical Epidemiology, 8, 297.
Southwick, S. M., Bonanno, G. A., Masten, A. S., Panter-Brick, C., & Yehuda, R. (2014). Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges: interdisciplinary perspectives. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5(1), 253–258.
Tugade, M. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 320–333.
Van Breda, A. D. (2018). A critical review of resilience theory and its relevance for social work. Social Work, 54(1), 1–18.
Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
White, A. M., Philogene, G. S., Fine, L., & Sinha, S. (2009). Social support and self-reported health status of older adults in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 99(10), 1872–1878. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2008.146894.
Wisker, G., & Robinson, G. (2012). Doctoral ‘orphans’: nurturing and supporting the success of postgraduates who have lost their supervisors. HERD, 32(2).
Wisker, G., & Robinson, G. (2013). Picking up the pieces: supervisor and doctoral ‘orphans’. International Journal for Researcher Development, 3(2), 139–153.
Wisker, G., & Robinson, G. (2016). Supervisor wellbeing and identity: challenges and strategies. International Journal for Researcher Development, 7(2), 123–140.
Wisker, G., Morris, C., Cheng, M., Masika, R., Warnes, M., Lilly, J., Trafford, V., & Robinson, G. (2010). Doctoral learning journeys – final report of the NTFS-funded project. Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/ntfs/Projects/Doctoral_Learning_Journeys.
Wright, T., & Cochrane, R. (2000). Factors influencing successful submission of PhD theses. Studies in Higher Education, 25(2), 181–195.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McCray, J., Joseph-Richard, P. Towards a model of resilience protection: factors influencing doctoral completion. High Educ 80, 679–699 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00507-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00507-4