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Casey, C.; Taylor, J.; Knight, F.; Trenoweth, S. Understanding the Mental Health of Doctoral Students. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/52896 (accessed on 16 May 2024).
Casey C, Taylor J, Knight F, Trenoweth S. Understanding the Mental Health of Doctoral Students. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/52896. Accessed May 16, 2024.
Casey, Chloe, Julia Taylor, Fiona Knight, Steven Trenoweth. "Understanding the Mental Health of Doctoral Students" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/52896 (accessed May 16, 2024).
Casey, C., Taylor, J., Knight, F., & Trenoweth, S. (2023, December 19). Understanding the Mental Health of Doctoral Students. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/52896
Casey, Chloe, et al. "Understanding the Mental Health of Doctoral Students." Encyclopedia. Web. 19 December, 2023.
Peer Reviewed
Understanding the Mental Health of Doctoral Students
This is a peer-reviewed entry published in Encyclopedia Journal, full entry can be found at 10.3390/encyclopedia3040109

Doctoral degrees include Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and other professional doctorates such as Engineering Doctorate (EngD), Doctor of Education (EdD) or Doctor of Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy). Unlike undergraduate or postgraduate taught students, doctoral students focus upon a single, autonomous piece of research. Research indicates a high occurrence of mental health problems, mental distress, and symptoms of anxiety or depression in doctoral students. Additionally, there is concern that they may be less likely to disclose existing mental health problems or access support services than undergraduate or postgraduate taught students. This entry explores the known factors that contribute to the mental health of doctoral students studying in the United Kingdom.

postgraduate researcher doctoral PhD mental health wellbeing supervision best practice university
As applicant numbers to higher education institutions in the United Kingdom (UK) reached record highs in 2020, 2021, and 2022 [1], the numbers of young people entering higher education continues to increase. The levels of mental illness, mental distress, and low wellbeing in the UK’s higher education sector are high relative to other sections of the population [2]. Therefore, supporting the positive mental health and wellbeing of this growing population is a pressing concern. In response, the UK’s higher education sector has undergone substantial strategy development to position student mental health as a core priority [3]. This is demonstrated through the development of the University Mental Health Charter in 2019, advocating a whole-university approach to promoting wellbeing [4][5].
Until recently, most research around student mental health focused on undergraduate students. Yet, recent evidence suggests that depression and anxiety are just as prevalent among doctoral students [6], and psychological distress may be higher [7]. International research indicates a high occurrence of mental health problems, mental distress, and symptoms of anxiety or depression in doctoral students [8][9][10][11][12][13]. Additionally, there is concern that they may be less likely to disclose existing mental health problems [2] or access support services, believing that they are not entitled to or would not benefit from the provisions available for other students [14]. Research has also identified the stigma that remains around accessing university mental health support, especially for international doctoral students [15].
Concerns about attrition rates in doctoral education have also been addressed in research [16][17][18]. Although there is a lack of investigation of the determinants of attrition at doctoral level, research is beginning to highlight that mental health problems may predict attendance problems [19]. Doctoral students that experience poor mental health are more likely to be absent during their degree programme [20], discontinue their research [18], or interrupt their studies [19]. A survey of doctoral students studying in the UK indicated that up to a third had considered interrupting their studies due to poor mental health [21]. It is evident that the working environment of doctoral degrees is implicated in the development or exacerbation of mental health problems [11]. This is of pressing concern to the students personally, and to the wider society [20].
There are significant personal costs of attrition at doctoral level, including limitations to career trajectory and opportunities to succeed in research, and a loss of future leaders in academia. In addition, there are great societal costs of students not completing their research. The work of doctoral students is a major source of scientific advancement and societal benefit in the UK, contributing to the position of the UK as a leader in research and innovation [22]. A loss of productivity, research findings, and innovation in higher education results in a loss of advances in science, health and social care, business, engineering, and technology in the UK, Europe, and beyond [23]. For the doctoral students who continue a career in academia, they become the future educators and supporters of university students. Therefore, investing in their mental health is investing in the experience of future students in higher education.
It is increasingly important that universities have strategies for embedding support for those undertaking doctoral research. In reaction to these concerns being raised by researchers, HE institutions, funders, charities, and the media in the UK have focused on the issue of the mental health and wellbeing of doctoral students. In 2018, Vitae published a report that was funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE): exploring wellbeing and mental health and associated support services for postgraduate researchers [24]. This report outlined the key issues affecting doctoral students in the UK including supervision, financial concerns, isolation, finances, academic pressures, and workload. It also identified student groups that may be more susceptible to mental health challenges: international researchers, those that study part-time, those with disabilities, and those with family responsibilities. The results from a recent systematic review and meta-analysis also indicate that female doctoral students studying in the UK may be more at risk of poor mental health [25].
As a result of this, Research England and the Office for Students launched a Catalyst Fund call. This provided funding for 17 projects led by research teams within UK universities. This funding was used to explore the mental health and wellbeing of doctoral researchers and begin to implement interventions to negate the challenges they face [26]. Since this rapid increase in research, charities have launched events and resources for universities and doctoral researchers, such as the UK Council for Graduate Education annual international conference: the Mental Health & Wellbeing of Postgraduate Researchers and The Wellbeing Thesis launched by Student Minds [27].
As the higher education sector is increasingly looking for policy and practice initiatives to tackle poor mental health in academia [28], it is important to first establish the scale of the problems and the underlying causes. Since recent research has shed light on the mental health and wellbeing challenges posing doctoral students, there has been a rush to action by universities. Consequently, there is a risk of implementing interventions to tackle the development of mental health problems in the absence of robust prevalence rates or complete understanding of the issue [29]. Currently, the causal factors remain contested, with the literature highlighting a magnitude of complex and intertwined contributing variables.
Therefore, this review focuses on gathering research that has explored the underpinning causes of poor mental health in doctoral students This comprehensive overview of the existing literature will help to identify the gaps in the research and guide the focus of further research. This review focuses on the context of the UK’s higher education sector, uncovering and amalgamating the current understanding of the issue. This narrative literature review aimed to answer the search question: what are the factors affecting the mental health and wellbeing of doctoral students studying in the UK? This will provide an evidence base to facilitate universities and doctoral schools to support the mental health of doctoral students, and to inform future research.

References

  1. Bolton, P. Higher Education Student Numbers; House of Commons Library: London, UK, 4 January 2023.
  2. Thorley, C. Not by Degrees: Improving Student Mental Health in the UK’s Universities; Institute for Public Policy Research: London, UK, 2017.
  3. Broglia, E.; Ryan, G.; Williams, C.; Fudge, M.; Knowles, L.; Turner, A.; Dufour, G.; Percy, A.; Barkham, M.; Consortium, S. Profiling student mental health and counselling effectiveness: Lessons from four UK services using complete data and different outcome measures. Br. J. Guid. Couns. 2021, 51, 204–222.
  4. Hughes, G.; Spanner, L. The University Mental Health Charter; Student Minds: Leeds, UK, 2019.
  5. Hughes, G.; Spanner, L. Planning For a Sustainable Future: The Importance of University Mental Health in Uncertain Times; Student Minds: Leeds, UK, 2020.
  6. Barton, B.A.; Bulmer, S.M. Correlates and predictors of depression and anxiety disorders in graduate students. Health Educ. 2017, 49, 17–26.
  7. Moss, R.A.; Gorczynski, P.; Sims-Schouten, W.; Heard-Laureote, K.; Creaton, J. Mental health and wellbeing of postgraduate researchers: Exploring the relationship between mental health literacy, help-seeking behaviour, psychological distress, and wellbeing. High. Educ. Res. Dev. 2022, 41, 1168–1183.
  8. Pranger, G.; Tyron, J.; Smith, A. Graduate Student Happiness & Wellbeing Report; University of California: Berkeley, CA, USA, 2014; Available online: http://ga.berkeley.edu/wellbeingreport/ (accessed on 31 October 2023).
  9. Rummell, C.M. An exploratory study of psychology graduate student workload, health, and program satisfaction. Prof. Psychol. Res. Pract. 2015, 46, 391.
  10. Lipson, S.K.; Zhou, S.; Wagner, B.; Beck, K.; Eisenberg, D. Major differences: Variations in undergraduate and graduate student mental health and treatment utilization across academic disciplines. J. Coll. Stud. Psychother. 2016, 30, 23–41.
  11. Levecque, K.; Anseel, F.; De Beuckelaer, A.; Van der Heyden, J.; Gisle, L. Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Res. Policy 2017, 46, 868–879.
  12. Evans, T.M.; Bira, L.; Gastelum, J.B.; Weiss, L.T.; Vanderford, N.L. Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nat. Biotechnol. 2018, 36, 282.
  13. Guthrie, S.; Lichten, C.A.; Van Belle, J.; Ball, S.; Knack, A.; Hofman, J. Understanding mental health in the research environment: A rapid evidence assessment. RAND Health Q. 2018, 7, 2.
  14. Waight, E.; Giordano, A. Doctoral students’ access to non-academic support for mental health. J. High. Educ. Policy Manag. 2018, 40, 390–412.
  15. Maeshima, L.S.; Parent, M.C. Mental health stigma and professional help-seeking behaviors among Asian American and Asian international students. J. Am. Coll. Health 2022, 70, 1761–1767.
  16. Spronken-Smith, R.; Cameron, C.; Quigg, R. Factors contributing to high PhD completion rates: A case study in a research-intensive university in New Zealand. Assess. Eval. High. Educ. 2018, 43, 94–109.
  17. Devos, C.; Boudrenghien, G.; Van der Linden, N.; Azzi, A.; Frenay, M.; Galand, B.; Klein, O. Doctoral students’ experiences leading to completion or attrition: A matter of sense, progress and distress. Eur. J. Psychol. Educ. 2017, 32, 61–77.
  18. Hunter, K.H.; Devine, K. Doctoral Students’ Emotional Exhaustion and Intentions to Leave Academia. Int. J. Dr. Stud. 2016, 11, 35–61.
  19. Berry, C.; Niven, J.E.; Hazell, C.M. Predictors of UK postgraduate researcher attendance behaviours and mental health-related attrition intention. Curr. Psychol. 2022, 42, 30521–30534.
  20. Berry, C.; Niven, J.E.; Hazell, C.M. Personal, social and relational predictors of UK postgraduate researcher mental health problems. BJPsych Open 2021, 7.
  21. Hazell, C.M.; Niven, J.E.; Chapman, L.; Roberts, P.E.; Cartwright-Hatton, S.; Valeix, S.; Berry, C. Nationwide assessment of the mental health of UK Doctoral Researchers. Humanit. Soc. Sci. Commun. 2021, 8, 1–9.
  22. Sousa, S.B.; Brennan, J.L. The UK research excellence framework and the transformation of research production . In Reforming Higher Education: Public Policy Design and Implementation; Springer: London, UK, 2013; pp. 65–80.
  23. Zhan, M. The post-study migration of EEA postgraduates: Who is remaining to work in the UK? Stud. High. Educ. 2022, 47, 1792–1807.
  24. Metcalfe, J.; Wilson, S.; Levecque, K. Exploring Wellbeing and Mental Health and Associated Support Services for Postgraduate Researchers; Vitae: London, UK, 2018; Available online: https://re.ukri.org/documents/2018/mental-health-report/ (accessed on 31 October 2023).
  25. Hazell, C.M.; Chapman, L.; Valeix, S.F.; Roberts, P.; Niven, J.E.; Berry, C. Understanding the mental health of doctoral researchers: A mixed methods systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. Syst. Rev. 2020, 9, 1–30.
  26. Metcalfe, J.; Day, E.; de Pury, J.; Dicks, A. Catalyst Fund. Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing for Postgraduate Research Students. Programme Evaluation; Vitae and Universities UK: London, UK, 2020.
  27. Student Minds. The Wellbeing Thesis. Available online: https://thewellbeingthesis.org.uk/ (accessed on 3 June 2020).
  28. Dodd, A.L.; Priestley, M.; Tyrrell, K.; Cygan, S.; Newell, C.; Byrom, N.C. University student well-being in the United Kingdom: A scoping review of its conceptualisation and measurement. J. Ment. Health 2021, 30, 1–13.
  29. Barkham, M.; Broglia, E.; Dufour, G.; Fudge, M.; Knowles, L.; Percy, A.; Turner, A.; Williams, C.; Consortium, S. Towards an evidence-base for student wellbeing and mental health: Definitions, developmental transitions and data sets. Couns. Psychother. Res. 2019, 19, 351–357.
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Subjects: Education & Educational Research; Psychology, Educational
Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
Chloe Casey
,
Julia Taylor
,
Fiona Knight
,
Steven Trenoweth
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Online Date: 19 Dec 2023
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