Researching the researchers: psychological distress and psychosocial stressors according to career stage in mental health researchers
Abstract Background Although there are many benefits associated with working in academia, this career path often involves structural and organisational stressors that can be detrimental to wellbeing and increase susceptibility to psychological distress and mental ill health. This exploratory study e...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00728-5 |
| _version_ | 1818486461934075904 |
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| author | Nicole T. M. Hill Eleanor Bailey Ruth Benson Grace Cully Olivia J. Kirtley Rosemary Purcell Simon Rice Jo Robinson Courtney C. Walton |
| author_facet | Nicole T. M. Hill Eleanor Bailey Ruth Benson Grace Cully Olivia J. Kirtley Rosemary Purcell Simon Rice Jo Robinson Courtney C. Walton |
| author_sort | Nicole T. M. Hill |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Although there are many benefits associated with working in academia, this career path often involves structural and organisational stressors that can be detrimental to wellbeing and increase susceptibility to psychological distress and mental ill health. This exploratory study examines experiences of work-related psychosocial stressors, psychological distress, and mental health diagnoses among mental health researchers. Methods This international cross-sectional study involved 207 mental health researchers who were post-graduate students or employed in research institutes or university settings. Work-related psychosocial stressors were measured by the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire III (COPSOQ III). Psychological distress was assessed using the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Thoughts of suicide was assessed using an adaptation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). History of mental health diagnoses was assessed through a custom questionnaire. Pearson’s chi-square test of independence was used to compare mental health diagnoses and suicidal ideation across career stages. The association between work-related psychosocial stressors and psychological distress was conducted using multivariate linear regression controlling for key demographic, employment-related and mental health factors. Results Differences in ‘demands at work’ and the ‘work-life balance’ domain were lowest among support staff (p = 0.01). Overall, 13.4% of respondents met the threshold for severe psychological distress, which was significantly higher in students compared to participants from other career stages (p = 0.01). Among the subgroup of participants who responded to the question on mental health diagnoses and suicidal ideation (n = 152), 54% reported a life-time mental health diagnosis and 23.7% reported suicidal ideation since their academic career commencement. After controlling for key covariates, the association between the ‘interpersonal relations and leadership’ domain and psychological distress was attenuated by the mental health covariates included in model 3 (β = −0.23, p = 0.07). The association between the remaining work-related psychosocial stressors and psychological distress remained significant. Conclusions Despite working in the same environment, research support staff report experiencing significantly less psychosocial stressors compared to postgraduate students, early-middle career researchers and senior researchers. Future research that targets key modifiable stressors associated with psychological distress including work organization and job content, and work-life balance could improve the overall mental health and wellbeing of mental health researchers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:23:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eabd4a9e6c27496fbdff1757dc8afe84 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:23:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-eabd4a9e6c27496fbdff1757dc8afe842022-12-22T01:41:46ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832022-02-0110111410.1186/s40359-022-00728-5Researching the researchers: psychological distress and psychosocial stressors according to career stage in mental health researchersNicole T. M. Hill0Eleanor Bailey1Ruth Benson2Grace Cully3Olivia J. Kirtley4Rosemary Purcell5Simon Rice6Jo Robinson7Courtney C. Walton8Telethon Kids InstituteOrygenSchool of Public Health, University College CorkSchool of Public Health, University College CorkDepartment of Neuroscience, Center for Contextual Psychiatry, KU LeuvenOrygenOrygenOrygenOrygenAbstract Background Although there are many benefits associated with working in academia, this career path often involves structural and organisational stressors that can be detrimental to wellbeing and increase susceptibility to psychological distress and mental ill health. This exploratory study examines experiences of work-related psychosocial stressors, psychological distress, and mental health diagnoses among mental health researchers. Methods This international cross-sectional study involved 207 mental health researchers who were post-graduate students or employed in research institutes or university settings. Work-related psychosocial stressors were measured by the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire III (COPSOQ III). Psychological distress was assessed using the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Thoughts of suicide was assessed using an adaptation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). History of mental health diagnoses was assessed through a custom questionnaire. Pearson’s chi-square test of independence was used to compare mental health diagnoses and suicidal ideation across career stages. The association between work-related psychosocial stressors and psychological distress was conducted using multivariate linear regression controlling for key demographic, employment-related and mental health factors. Results Differences in ‘demands at work’ and the ‘work-life balance’ domain were lowest among support staff (p = 0.01). Overall, 13.4% of respondents met the threshold for severe psychological distress, which was significantly higher in students compared to participants from other career stages (p = 0.01). Among the subgroup of participants who responded to the question on mental health diagnoses and suicidal ideation (n = 152), 54% reported a life-time mental health diagnosis and 23.7% reported suicidal ideation since their academic career commencement. After controlling for key covariates, the association between the ‘interpersonal relations and leadership’ domain and psychological distress was attenuated by the mental health covariates included in model 3 (β = −0.23, p = 0.07). The association between the remaining work-related psychosocial stressors and psychological distress remained significant. Conclusions Despite working in the same environment, research support staff report experiencing significantly less psychosocial stressors compared to postgraduate students, early-middle career researchers and senior researchers. Future research that targets key modifiable stressors associated with psychological distress including work organization and job content, and work-life balance could improve the overall mental health and wellbeing of mental health researchers.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00728-5Mental healthResearchersWellbeingUniversityStudentsStress |
| spellingShingle | Nicole T. M. Hill Eleanor Bailey Ruth Benson Grace Cully Olivia J. Kirtley Rosemary Purcell Simon Rice Jo Robinson Courtney C. Walton Researching the researchers: psychological distress and psychosocial stressors according to career stage in mental health researchers BMC Psychology Mental health Researchers Wellbeing University Students Stress |
| title | Researching the researchers: psychological distress and psychosocial stressors according to career stage in mental health researchers |
| title_full | Researching the researchers: psychological distress and psychosocial stressors according to career stage in mental health researchers |
| title_fullStr | Researching the researchers: psychological distress and psychosocial stressors according to career stage in mental health researchers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Researching the researchers: psychological distress and psychosocial stressors according to career stage in mental health researchers |
| title_short | Researching the researchers: psychological distress and psychosocial stressors according to career stage in mental health researchers |
| title_sort | researching the researchers psychological distress and psychosocial stressors according to career stage in mental health researchers |
| topic | Mental health Researchers Wellbeing University Students Stress |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00728-5 |
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