This dissertation measures and describes the factors that impact doctoral student persistence. Using a mixed methods cases study design, I analyzed institutional student record data, survey data on caregiving responsibilities, and data from semi-structured interviews with PhD students at a STEM-focused, public research university in the American Southeast. Results of this study show that 69% of students who started their PhD between Fall 2010 and Fall 2015 had graduated by Fall 2022. Additionally, 23% of doctoral students reported having significant caregiving responsibilities during program enrollment, including experiencing pregnancy, caring for children under the age of 18, caring for a partner or spouse, providing eldercare, and other types of caregiving responsibilities. Cox proportional hazard models of attaining candidacy, graduating with a PhD, dropping out of a program, and stopping out of a program with a master's degree showed that academic discipline, age at entry, prior academic achievement, race, citizenship, sex, types of financial support, caregiving, and term-based patterns of doctoral enrollment and academic performance impact risk of program attrition at each stage of doctoral student integration. Caregiving was negatively associated with a student's likelihood of reaching candidacy and graduating, but female caregivers were more likely to complete a PhD. Interviews with 15 doctoral students revealed that the mental health implications of pursuing a graduate degree, the climates they experience in departments and institutions, the quality of advisor and peer relationships, the financial resources they have access to, and the caregiving responsibilities they manage impact their social and academic experiences, and thus their persistence decisions. This dissertation ends with a discussion of the implications of these findings for theory, policy, practice, and future research. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]