The Role of Attachment in Faculty Mentoring

Abstract

This nonexperimental, correlational study examined the relationships between the attachment styles of mentors (N = 52) and protégés (N = 50), mentoring as measured by psychosocial support and career support, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to turnover. An Internet-based self-report survey instrument consisting of six scales were administered to the participants of a formal faculty mentoring program. Hypotheses were tested through correlational and hierarchical regression analytic procedures. Results of this study supported the hypotheses proposed in this study. For mentors and protégés, the variables attachment and mentoring were significantly associated with each of the outcome variables job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to turnover. Furthermore, in the case of mentors after controlling for gender and ethnicity, attachment and mentoring specifically psychosocial mentoring predicted unique variance in job satisfaction (R2 = .43), organizational commitment (R2 = .47), and intent to turnover (R2 = -.28). For protégés, while secure attachment and mentoring predicted unique variance in job satisfaction (R2 = .65), only secure attachment predicted unique variance in organizational commitment (R2 = .55), and intent to turnover (R2 = -.58). Zero-order correlations as well as the regression models indicated medium to large effect sizes, supporting the empirical and practical relevance of understanding the relationships between attachment, mentoring, and organizational outcomes. Responses to open-ended survey questions by mentors converged with the quantitative results and additionally indicated that mentors experienced learning from their protégés. They experienced job satisfaction by providing both career support and psychosocial support. Responses to open-ended questions by protégés indicated that they experienced satisfaction as they received psychosocial support from their mentors in the form of trust, friendship, advice, and help. The study specifically informs the field of faculty mentoring research by linking faculty job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions to attachment styles and mentoring. Practitioners in higher education developing faculty mentoring programs can use this information in the selection of mentors and protégés.