RAPID: Effect of The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on the Psychosocial, Emotional, Academic and Career Functioning of Academic Communities

The primary goal of this study is to inform existing models of academic and social engagement, and to develop interconnected theoretical models to capture the complex psychosocial, emotional, cognitive, academic, and career consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the short and long term. The unprecedented nature and impact of the present pandemic (e.g., extreme social distancing measures, campus closures, an abrupt shift to online instruction, temporary closure of in person laboratory research, cancellation of most academic clubs and meetings; child and elder care responsibilities, family job loss, and death), requires a comprehensive and systematic study to assess and model the complex, evolving impacts on psychosocial, emotional, cognitive, academic, and career outcomes. Further, the unique impact of the pandemic on historically underrepresented minority communities highlights the pressing need for empirical research to help motivate and guide reforms and interventions to address the needs of historically underrepresented minority STEM academic communities. With a racially, ethnically, gender, and age-diverse sample, this project aims to fill important scientific knowledge gaps in understanding and systematically evaluating the short- and long-term changes in psychosocial, academic, and career life experiences as well as inequalities in academic systems.

The research team is investigating the following questions: 1) Are there disparities (as a function of age, disability, gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, nationality, and sexual orientation) in academic and psychosocial resource availability, support, and needs reported by STEM graduate, and postdoctoral historically underrepresented minority (URM) vs. non-URM scholars during the COVID pandemic? 2) Do the disparities or changes in academic and psychosocial factors impact core STEM identity and efficacy differentially for URM versus non-URM scholars? 3) How does mentor quality relationship and academic social support networks moderate the relationship between training and learning disruptions and COVID stressors, and STEM identity, efficacy and career intentions? 4) How does the study of scholars across the next 11 months inform and refine existing models of academic and social engagement to account for unique pandemic effects on academic, cognitive, career, emotional and psychosocial consequences for URM and non-URM STEM scholars? The researchers will use a quasi-experimental longitudinal design and data will primarily be collected using on-line survey methods.

The award is funded by NSF's Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate program, which supports STEM education research to increase the number of historically underrepresented minority faculty in STEM disciplines.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.