Research Paper about Mental Health Problems of Graduate Students

Research Topic

Graduate students are showing many mental health problems related to stress and work. Mindfulness exercises, as well as physical exercise, have been shown to improve the above concerns. Graduate students need to have increased access, understanding, and opportunity to practice mindfulness, physical exercise, and other self-care acts in order to improve their mental health and wellbeing.  

Introduction

Though mental health has often been a concern of the general public, a greater emphasis has been placed on these issues since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers are looking into rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. Alongside these studies that collect data on occurrences and common themes within this topic, psychologists and other researchers are attempting to determine effective means of combating these issues. These approaches include physical movement, mindfulness, and stress management. Within the broad scope of mental health, a spotlight has been placed on undergraduate and graduate students. Academic institutions have experienced a great amount of stress, turmoil, and uncertainty throughout the various lockdowns, mandates, and remote learning usage. All of these changes and questions have trickled down to the students, begging the question of whether these academics are aware of the existence of mental health resources, techniques, and how they can affect mental health. Throughout this literature review, the topics of graduate student mental health, general mental health coping techniques, and coping technique impacts on graduate students will be explored. 

Prevalence of Graduate Student Mental Health Concerns

It is no secret that university, whether at an undergraduate or graduate level, can be a very stressful experience. Commitments that take dedicated work, self-sufficiency, and responsibility often are. However, there are times when the amount of responsibility or stress can be overwhelming for an individual, resulting in burnout and other mental health concerns. 

Individual graduate students experiencing mental health issues are, unfortunately, far from isolated cases. In Wang’s XXXX study, it was found that 38% of college students experience anxiety, while 48% experience depression, and 18% experience suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, only 43% have said they have been able to cope with these issues (Wang, XXX). This is a terrifyingly high percentage of academics struggling with mental health issues. Though these issues have not quite reached the majority of the population, there is still a significant portion of students struggling with mental health. These results were likewise found in Gallea’s XXXX study, which determined that a large number of graduate students not only experience anxiety or depression, but directly attribute their issues to time spent in academia. 

Factors Contributing to Graduate Student Mental Health

Not all graduate students have equal likelihoods of developing these mental health challenges. While these struggles can affect any population or demographic, Possel found in their XXX study that certain factors and identities increase graduate student likelihood of experiencing mental health issues. For a graduate student, experiencing racial inequality, identifying as LGBT+, coming from a low socioeconomic standing, and studying the humanities all increase likelihood of developing mental health problems. (Posselt, XXX). Even specific courses can increase their chances of struggling with mental health. In an exploratory study in XXX, Tutkun discovered that a specific form of anxiety called “statistics anxiety” can strike in graduate students enrolled in a statistics course. The severity of this anxiety can be influenced by the importance of the course and individuals’ lack of experience in certain skills (Tutkun, xxx). Individual behaviors also influence the likelihood of mental health problems in graduate students. Allen determined through their study of sleep, stress, and burnout in graduate students that a lack of sleep is negatively correlated with a relationship between stress and burnout. That is, they discovered that less sleep can transform graduate student stress into full burnout (Allen, xxx). Surprisingly, despite the fact that 71% of students say their mental health has gotten worse over the course of the pandemic (Wang, xxx), Ramos uncovered that the mental issues and coping strategies demonstrated by remote students showed no difference to brick-and-mortar students. So though the pandemic has exacerbated these issues, the change does not seem related to the usage of different media.

Graduate Student Mental Health Experiences

In a focus group-based observational study, Siegel determined that many of these struggling graduate students feel that their academic institutions are largely silent regarding the mental health struggles that their students are facing. These students feared stigmatization around their struggles, and had difficulty reaching out for assistance considering these two factors. (Siegel, XXX). 

It is thus well-established in research that there is a large issue looming over graduate programs: students are struggling, and aren’t sure how to move forward in fixing these mental problems. Thus, the question is asked: What solutions exist to mental health issues? 

Mental Health Improvement Techniques

Despite the mental health crisis looming over graduate and university students, all hope is not lost. Researchers have been working to better understand mental health improvement techniques. Including their efficacy and impact on individuals and populations. Throughout the research, two major trends appeared: mindfulness based mental health work, and exercise based mental health work. 

Mindfulness and Mental Health

Mindfulness work has been a growing field in recent years, much to the benefit of those that struggle with mental health problems. Mindfulness is loosely defined as the ability to remain present and focused on defining, exploring, and understanding feelings and thought processes. In recent years, there have been formal measures conducted on the impact that taught mindfulness can have on the mental health and stress of individuals. In XXX, Janssen conducted a study to explore the effects of a mindfulness course on healthcare workers. As healthcare workers had been experiencing a significant amount of stress since the start of the pandemic, it was quite a relief to find that those that participated in the mindfulness course showed signs of improvement in their mental health. A significant majority of participants showed a decreased in burnout, negative emotions, and worrying. (XXX) In fact, even when expanded to other workplaces, similar results have been observed. Burnett-Zeigler found that those who were more mindful were less likely to have physiological signs of stress (Burnett-Zeigler, XXX). In XXX, Diaz expanded the scope of the exploration of mindfulness by executing an experiment utilizing both mindfulness and exercise in office workers. Two groups were observed, one completing mindfulness exercises during their lunch hours, and the others exercising. Both groups were found to have improved mental health and decreased stress. One key takeaway, however, emerged. Physical exercise was found to be even more effective at managing these stress and mental health symptoms, indicating it as a key player in improving mental health concerns (Diaz, XXX).