Profiles in Mentoring: Why Prof. Janelle Peifer on How to Know Thyself

A conversation with Janelle Peifer about identity, empathy, and mentoring

By Jean Rhodes

Dr. Janelle S. Peifer is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Richmond, where her research examines college student development, identity, intercultural competence, and mental health. A licensed clinical psychologist whose work focuses on trauma and identity, she is also the founder and lead psychologist of The Center for Inclusive Therapy + Wellness.

Peifer’s recent research extends her earlier work on identity and empathy in mentoring to questions about college student development and well-being. In a longitudinal study, she and her colleagues found that symptoms of anxiety and depression were associated with less growth in intercultural competence (Peifer et al., 2023). More recently, they examined relationships among ethnic identity, empathy, self-efficacy, and symptoms of anxiety and depression (Peifer et al., 2026). These studies provide a broader context for the conversation below about self-knowledge, connection across differences, and mentoring practice.

Jean Rhodes (JR)

Your work brings together questions about how young people understand themselves, connect with others, and navigate cultural differences. What first drew you to these questions, and how did your experiences in mentoring shape your research?

Janelle Peifer (JP)

I became interested in these questions through my lived experience as a facilitator with the Young Women Leaders Program (YWLP) at the University of Virginia. Through YWLP, I saw firsthand how the mentoring relationship shaped mentors and mentees in powerful ways. The reciprocal dynamic in mentoring plays such a pivotal role in helping us better understand ourselves and others. Given the prevalence of cross-cultural mentoring, I believed in the importance of considering the variables that support or inhibit effective connection across difference.

JR

Your earlier mentoring study linked mentors’ ethnic identity exploration and commitment with ethnic identity exploration among mentees of color (Peifer et al., 2016). Your more recent research examines connections among ethnic identity, empathy, self-efficacy, and college students’ mental health (Peifer et al., 2026). What does this line of work suggest about the importance of mentors exploring and understanding their own identities?

JP

Know thyself. To me, the finding linking mentor’s ethnocultural empathy and ethnic identity with mentee’s ethnic identity exploration highlights the importance of self-knowledge in intercultural exchange. Mentors who demonstrate greater exploration of and commitment to their own ethnic identity may model and create a safe environment where mentee’s feel empowered to explore their own ethnic identities.

JR

In your longitudinal work, anxiety and depression were associated with less growth in college students’ intercultural competence (Peifer et al., 2023). How should mentoring programs think about identity development alongside mental health, particularly for young people facing racism and discrimination? What can programs do to help?

JP

In my work, I focus on strengths and asset-based approach to considering issues of justice, equity, and inclusion. We know that racism and other forms of discrimination contributes to myriad physical, psychological, and social ills (Dover, Hunger, & Major, 2020). With that in mind, it’s critical for youth mentoring programs to consider antidotes and inoculations that help protect young people from those negative outcomes (Anderson, Heard-Garris, and DeLapp, 2021). Ethnic identity exploration and other forms of cultural and racial socialization are protective (Anderson, & Stevenson, 2019). To do this, mentoring programs can integrate practices that help mentors and mentees explore their racial and cultural identity, develop cultural pride and knowledge, and exchange with each other about their ethnic and racial identities.

See Dr. Peiffer’s MentorPRO CEBM webinar 

References

Anderson, R. E., Heard-Garris, N., & DeLapp, R. C. T. (2021). Future directions for vaccinating children against the American endemic: Treating racism as a virus. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2021.1969940

Anderson, R. E., & Stevenson, H. C. (2019). RECASTing racial stress and trauma: Theorizing the healing potential of racial socialization in families. American Psychologist, 74(1), 63-75. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000392

Dover, T. L., Hunger, J. M., & Major, B. (2020). Health consequences of prejudice and discrimination. In K. Sweeny, M. L. Robbins, & L. M. Cohen (Eds.), The Wiley encyclopedia of health psychology. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119057840.ch71

Peifer, J. S., Lawrence, E. C., Williams, J. L., & Leyton-Armakan, J. (2016). The culture of mentoring: Ethnocultural empathy and ethnic identity in mentoring for minority girls. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 22(3), 440-446. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000078

Peifer, J. S., Taasoobshirazi, G., & Meyer-Lee, E. (2023). Longitudinal growth in college student self-efficacy and intercultural competence attenuated by anxiety/depression. Frontiers in Education, 8, Article 1261192. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1261192

Peifer, J. S., Walker, A., Taasoobshirazi, G., Meyer-Lee, E., & Green, J. (2026). The mediating effect of ethnic identity and cognitive and affective empathy on anxious and depressive symptoms in college students. Frontiers in Education, 11, Article 1858038. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1858038