Prevalence and Impact of Single-Day Events of Sexual Harassment, Racial Mistreatment, and Incivility on Biomedical Health Trainees: A Mixed-Methods Study

Little research has examined how often biomedical trainees encounter mistreatment in a single day or how such momentary experiences may undermine engagement in training. To address this gap, we investigated the prevalence and short-term consequences of daily sexual harassment, racial mistreatment, and incivility among graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in U.S. biomedical programs. In Study 1, 404 National Institutes of Health-funded trainees completed a two-wave survey assessing mistreatment, mood, and program attitudes across two 24 h periods separated by 10 days. On either day, 36.9% of participants experienced or observed at least one mistreatment episode, with no differences by gender or underrepresented minority status. Day 1 mistreatment was significantly negatively associated with program attitudes 10 days later, suggesting short-term derailment effects. In Study 2, 21 participants responded to true accounts of peers’ mistreatment to describe their emotional reactions and expectations of mentors. Trainees reported anger, disgust, and betrayal, and emphasized the need for mentors to acknowledge these harms, intervene appropriately, and offer support. This study provides the first evidence of single-day mistreatment prevalence among biomedical health trainees and demonstrates that even brief exposures can degrade training program attitudes. Findings underscore the need for improved mentor training and institutional resources to protect and support trainees.