Understanding Graduate Student Parents: Influence of Parental Status, Gender, and Major on Graduate Students’ Motivation, Stress, and Satisfaction

Abstract

Graduate student parents are a unique subpopulation in higher education that accounts for a large proportion of graduate students. While student parents struggle to balance multiple roles, female students in STEM fields may face more significant barriers in balancing family and academic responsibilities compared to male graduate student parents or female students in non-STEM fields. Despite the urgent need to support this special population, little attention has been paid to how parental status, major, and gender affect graduate students. In this quantitative study of 545 graduate students, we examined the influence of parental status, major, and gender on motivation, stress, and satisfaction. A series of factorial ANOVAs found significant differences in motivation and mental health between graduate student parents and non-parents. Our findings highlight the importance of providing adequate resources to graduate students according to their status.