Supervisor support as a determinant of mental well-being and academic resilience among doctoral students: a qualitative study in Indonesian higher education

Graduate students consistently report higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression than the general population, particularly within Indonesian doctoral programs where international publication requirements, repetitive revisions, and communication gaps with supervisors amplify psychological strain. Such pressures often weaken students’ mental well-being and diminish their academic resilience. This study explores how dissertation supervisors shape these two psychological outcomes by providing structured academic and psychosocial support. Using a qualitative descriptive design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with ten doctoral students across diverse disciplines, complemented by participatory observation and document analysis. Data were analysed using thematic analysis guided by the Miles and Huberman interactive model (data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing). The findings show that supervisory support functions through four key dimensions emotional, informational, instrumental, and appraisal which collectively influence students’ psychological security, clarity, motivation, and persistence. Emotional support fosters calmness and reduces anxiety; informational support enhances methodological confidence; instrumental support decreases administrative burdens; and appraisal support strengthens self-regulation and academic motivation. These results reinforce the applicability of Social Support Theory in postgraduate supervision and identify supervisor support as a determinant of both mental well-being and academic resilience. Ethical approval was granted by the Universitas Negeri Malang Ethics Committee, and all participants provided informed consent prior to participation.