Building Inclusive Institutions: Evaluating Identity-Based Mentorship As an Intervention for LGBTQ+ College Students

Background and Purpose: For LGBTQ+ students who are starting their journey in higher education, they are faced with hostile climates, discrimination, and limited access to affirming resources, which undermines their academic wellbeing and the institution’s ability to retain these students. The current study examines whether identity-based peer mentorship can serve as an effective strategy to promote inclusion and equitable success for first-year LGBTQ+ students in a residential STEM college. The study investigates: (1) how LGBTQ+ students experience identity-based peer mentorship, (2) whether peer mentorship improves student outcomes compared to no mentorship, and (3) whether identity-based mentorship yields stronger outcomes than traditional career-based mentorship. We hypothesize that compared to students who are in career-based mentorship, students who are in identity-based mentorship will experience greater improvement in all student success related outcomes.

Methods: This convergent mixed-methods study was conducted within a first-year peer mentorship program at a residential STEM college in a large public Midwestern university. Participants included 102 first-year STEM students who opted into mentorship, including 13 LGBTQ+ students assigned to identity-based mentorship groups led by trained LGBTQ+ peer mentors. Quantitative data were collected via pre- and post-semester surveys measuring five domains of student success: belonging, educational success, wellbeing, self-discovery, and community engagement. Analyses included descriptive statistics and ANCOVA-style difference-in-differences regression models comparing three groups: identity-based mentorship, career-based mentorship, and no mentorship. Qualitative data included semi-structured interviews with mentors and focus groups with LGBTQ+ mentees.

Results: Quantitative findings indicate that peer mentorship in general is associated with increased sense of belonging compared to no mentorship. Students in identity-based mentorship demonstrated comparatively greater improvements in educational success and community engagement than those in career-based mentorship. Qualitative findings illuminate mechanisms underlying these outcomes. Participants described identity-based matching as a foundational aspect that helped mentees and mentors to build immediate trust, comfort, and openness. However, students also highlighted persistent exclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals within STEM environments and emphasized the need for broader institutional support.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings suggest that identity-based peer mentorship is a promising, yet insufficient, standalone intervention for advancing equity for LGBTQ+ students in higher education. In order to promote sustained positive changes for LGBTQ+ college students, identity-based mentorship must be embedded within broader systems of support that require institutional commitment and structural change. This study also demonstrates how social work researchers and practitioners can bring social work values into diverse spaces to support marginalized populations.