Advanced Research Institute Scholars' Perspectives on Program Success: A Self-determination Theory Evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: The Advanced Research Institute (ARI) is a National Institute of Mental Health-funded career development program designed to progress early-career investigators with specializations in geriatric mental health to scientific independence. Scholars who participate in ARI demonstrate a threefold greater likelihood of securing independent funding (e.g., an R01) relative to nonparticipants, yet scholar perspectives are not represented in the literature. DESIGN: To explain scholars' views on ARI's effectiveness, this paper adopts Self-Determination Theory as a guiding framework, which posits that three fundamental psychological needs-competence, autonomy, and relatedness-underlie motivation and growth. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: In February 2023, all ARI graduates with current email addresses (n = 164) received a link to a Qualtrics Survey on scientific leadership. Of the 141(86%) responses, scholars also provided narrative open-ended responses regarding their experience with ARI. MEASUREMENTS: First, we draw on published descriptions and a grant proposal (R25MH119050) wherein ARI program elements are described to explore alignment with the self determination theory framework. Then, we use participant narratives to offer experience-near ways of understanding the effective elements from the scholar perspective. RESULTS: ARI fosters competence through structured feedback, research, and professional skill development, autonomy through scholar-driven research planning, and relatedness by creating a connected, collaborative community. CONCLUSION: The self determination theory framework provides a useful lens to contextualize the experiences of scholars in this successful program and underscores that further research and development is warranted.

Duke Scholars

Author Megan E Shepherd-Banigan Population Health Sciences