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Journal ArticleDOI

Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students

TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the prevalence of mental health problems in a representative sample of PhD students in Flanders, Belgium (N = 3659) and compare them to three other samples: (1) highly educated in the general population, (2), highly educated employees, and (3) higher education students.
About: This article is published in Research Policy.The article was published on 2017-05-01 and is currently open access. It has received 550 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Mental health & Job control.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper explored challenges related to candidature, self-reported progress and measures of perceived and actual psychological distress with a convenience sample of 81 doctoral candidates in an Australian university using validated survey instruments.
Abstract: Psychological distress is prevalent in doctoral degree training and affects students’ completion time. It is crucial to monitor the amount of distress experienced and understand the causes for it to inform the type of support most needed. This mixed method study explored challenges related to candidature, self-reported progress and measures of perceived and actual psychological distress with a convenience sample of 81 doctoral candidates in an Australian university. Using validated survey instruments, participants reported higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress than age-matched general population normative data. Additionally, those who self-reported being behind or exceeding their study schedule had significantly higher scores for depression, anxiety and stress than those who reported they were meeting schedule. Conversely, stage of candidature did not affect any of these attribute scores. The responses to open-ended questions about challenges associated with doctoral study were coded and explored with an existing typology. The most frequent challenge reported in doctoral study is related to the development of generic skills, followed by management of self, including motivation. Given that not all challenges could be included in the existing typology, we recommend expansion to the typology.

112 citations

BookDOI
22 Aug 2017
TL;DR: Factors including increased job autonomy, involvement in decision making and supportive management were linked to greater job satisfaction among academics, as was the amount of time spent on research, and opportunities for professional development were also associated with reduced stress.
Abstract: This study aimed to establish what is known about the mental health of researchers based on the existing literature. There is limited published evidence on the prevalence of specific mental health conditions among researchers. The majority of the identified literature on prevalence relates to work-related stress among academic staff and postgraduate students in university settings. Survey data indicate that the majority of university staff find their job stressful. Levels of burnout appear higher among university staff than in general working populations and are comparable to “high-risk” groups such as healthcare workers. The proportions of both university staff and postgraduate students with a risk of having or developing a mental health problem, based on self-reported evidence, were generally higher than for other working populations. Large proportions (>40 per cent) of postgraduate students report symptoms of depression, emotion or stress-related problems, or high levels of stress. Factors including increased job autonomy, involvement in decision making and supportive management were linked to greater job satisfaction among academics, as was the amount of time spent on research. Opportunities for professional development were also associated with reduced stress. UK higher education (HE) and research staff report worse wellbeing, as compared to staff in other sectors, in most aspects of work that can affect workers' stress levels. The evidence around the effectiveness of interventions to support the mental health of researchers specifically is thin. Few interventions are described in the literature and even fewer of those have been evaluated.

103 citations


Cites background or methods or result from "Work organization and mental health..."

  • ...Among PhD students, low job control was also found to be a predictor of mental health problems (Levecque et al. 2017)....

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  • ...Levecque et al. (2017) used a survey to assess the presence of psychological distress and potential psychiatric disorders in a sample of PhD students and compared the results to those of three other sample populations....

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  • ...Levecque et al. (2017) provide a useful summary of the different GHQ measures used and results obtained in a number of studies in this sector since 2000....

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  • ...Among PhD students, conflicts in teams were not seen as being significantly associated with mental health (Levecque et al. 2017), though the supervisor relationship is clearly important, as discussed in the previous subsection....

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  • ...…mental health conditions amongst postdoctoral researchers: Further work on prevalence could use a targeted approach building on the recent work by Levecque et al. (2017), who used a survey to assess the presence of psychological distress and potential psychiatric disorders in a sample of PhD…...

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Journal ArticleDOI
25 Oct 2017-Nature
TL;DR: The 2017 Nature's 2017 PhD survey revealed that despite many problems with doctoral programs, PhD students are as committed as ever to pursuing research careers as discussed by the authors, despite some problems with the doctoral programs.
Abstract: Nature's 2017 PhD survey reveals that, despite many problems with doctoral programmes, PhD students are as committed as ever to pursuing research careers.

99 citations

References
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Book
26 Apr 1990
TL;DR: In this article, a strategy for redesigning jobs to reduce unnecessary stress and improve productivity and job satisfaction is proposed, which is based on the concept of job redesigning and re-designing.
Abstract: Suggests a strategy for redesigning jobs to reduce unnecessary stress and improve productivity and job satisfaction.

8,329 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors reviewed more than 70 studies concerning employees' general belief that their work organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support; POS) and indicated that 3 major categories of beneficial treatment received by employees were associated with POS.
Abstract: The authors reviewed more than 70 studies concerning employees' general belief that their work organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support; POS). A meta-analysis indicated that 3 major categories of beneficial treatment received by employees (i.e., fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards and favorable job conditions) were associated with POS. POS, in turn, was related to outcomes favorable to employees (e.g., job satisfaction, positive mood) and the organization (e.g., affective commitment, performance, and lessened withdrawal behavior). These relationships depended on processes assumed by organizational support theory: employees' belief that the organization's actions were discretionary, feeling of obligation to aid the organization, fulfillment of socioemotional needs, and performance-reward expectancies.

5,828 citations

Book
21 May 1987
TL;DR: The theory and the leading methods of measurement, all of which rely on subjective judgments in questionnaires and rating scales are described, showing readers how to select the most suitable one, apply it, and score the results.
Abstract: This is a convenient guide to the health measurement methods used in health and social surveys, epidemiological studies, and clinical trials. It describes the theory and the leading methods of measurement, all of which rely on subjective judgments in questionnaires and rating scales. The authors discuss the validity and reliability of each method, showing readers how to select the most suitable one, apply it, and score the results. Epidemiologists and health care researchers; social scientists; health care planners and analysts.

4,798 citations

Trending Questions (2)
What are the causes and effects of working students having mental health issues?

The provided paper does not specifically address the causes and effects of mental health issues in working students. The paper focuses on the prevalence of mental health problems in PhD students and the organizational factors that predict mental health status in this group.

What is the highest paying job in mental health?

Especially work-family interface, job demands and job control, the supervisor’s leadership style, team decision-making culture, and perception of a career outside academia are linked to mental health problems.