Mentoring: Processes and Perceptions of Sport and Exercise Psychology Graduate Students

Although it has been suggested that the process of mentoring provides a number of benefits to graduate students (Kelly & Schweitzer, 1999), documentation of these benefits is limited within sport and exercise psychology (SEP). Therefore, the present study surveyed SEP graduate students (N = 104) in an attempt to understand their mentoring experiences. Results revealed the presence of both formal and informal professional and peer mentoring. Overall, mentors were perceived positively, but multiple regression analysis showed that mentoring towards professional development was most predictive of positive mentoring evaluations. Peer mentoring was found to exist at a much higher rate than has been found in other disciplines. Participants preferred professional mentoring for areas of research and writing productivity, while peer mentoring contributed to their experience as a graduate student. These results preliminarily support the inclusion of mentoring into SEP graduate school programs.