UC Santa Cruz

Success in any endeavor is dependent upon a combination of unique circumstances and personal factors. Some people are able to rise to upcoming challenges and surpass expectations while others struggle, waver or simply give up. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine factors that contribute to personal success within two contexts: academia and addictions treatment. Specifically, this study investigates the contributions of mentors' emotional intelligence, and protégés' self-efficacy in determining positive protégé outcomes. Within the context of academia, results showed slight support for the predictive relationship between mentoring support received and students' feelings of research self-efficacy. Results provided mixed support for the predictive relationship between students' self-efficacy and their academic outcomes such as final course grade, identity as a researcher and commitment to training in psychology. Within the context of addictions treatment, results failed to support the proposed model. Limitations, applications and future directions are discussed.