UC Riverside

Despite a two-fold increase in doctoral attainment among Latinas in the U.S. over the past two decades, disparities in completion persist compared to other racial-ethnic groups. A lack of social support in academia contributes to isolation and intentions to drop out among Latina doctoral students, highlighting the need to better understand and address their experiences. Guided by Latina/o Critical Theory, Community Cultural Wealth, and Ecological Systems Theory, this dissertation examined how Latina PhD students in U.S. social science programs navigate relationships with mentors, advisors, and peers, focusing on support and conflict. It also explored their use of social media for support and their interactions with institutional resources.This study addressed five research questions related to culturally responsive mentoring, advisor conflict navigation, peer support and conflict resolution, online social support, and institutional support. Using a multi-method design, Study A collected survey data from 214 Latina PhD students, and Study B conducted plática-style focus groups with 40 first-generation Latina PhD students to examine the mechanisms and cultural factors shaping relationship dynamics in academia. Notably, participants reported limited use of social media and minimal institutional programming to support relationship-building, and thus, these areas were examined descriptively. Findings highlight the complex, culturally embedded ways in which Latina PhD students navigate academic relationships. For mentoring, three themes emerged: adaptation and resources, relational mentoring, and critically conscious mentoring. Advisor conflict navigation was shaped by cultural dissonance, persistence, and resistance, and navigating whiteness and belonging. Peer support revealed five key forms, including academic mentoring, co-processing of racialized and inequality-based experiences, emotional support, companionship, and shared identity and understanding. Additionally, online emotional support was perceived as significantly higher than informational support. These findings offer insight into how Latina PhD students persist and navigate systems not designed with them in mind and contribute to the existing literature by demonstrating that relationship navigation is a dynamic, culturally grounded process shaped by social networks, cultural values, and hierarchical structures within academia.