The Impact of the Mentoring Relationship on the Research Self-efficacy of Graduate Students: The Moderating Role of Stress and its Regulatory Impact on Stress Mindset

Graduate education is pivotal in fostering innovative talent and facilitating national modernization efforts. It serves as a crucial component in executing the strategy of scientific advancement through education and research. Grounded in self-efficacy theory and social cognitive career theory, this study developed a moderated mediation model to investigate the connection between mentoring relationships and research self-efficacy. Data were gathered from 2,278 graduate students across various provinces and cities nationwide, analyzed using SPSS software for model testing and theoretical validation. The findings indicated a positive association between mentoring relationships and research self-efficacy; stress functioned as a mediating factor between these relationships and research self-efficacy; Stress Mindset negatively moderated the relationship between mentoring relationships and research self-efficacy, as well as the relationship between mentoring relationships and stress, while also mediating the impact of stress. This study elucidated the mechanisms through which mentoring relationships influence research self-efficacy and offered recommendations for enhancing graduate students' research self-efficacy.