Mental Health and Wellbeing of Postgraduate Researchers: Exploring the Relationship between Mental Health Literacy, Help-Seeking Behaviour, Psychological Distress, and Wellbeing

Autor/inn/en	Moss, R. A.; Gorczynski, P.; Sims-Schouten, W.; Heard-Laureote, K.; Creaton, J.
Titel	Mental Health and Wellbeing of Postgraduate Researchers: Exploring the Relationship between Mental Health Literacy, Help-Seeking Behaviour, Psychological Distress, and Wellbeing
Quelle	In: Higher Education Research and Development, 41 (2022) 4, S.1168-1183 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Moss, R. A.) ORCID (Gorczynski, P.) ORCID (Sims-Schouten, W.) ORCID (Heard-Laureote, K.) ORCID (Creaton, J.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0729-4360
DOI	10.1080/07294360.2021.1906210
Schlagwörter	Mental Health; Well Being; Knowledge Level; Help Seeking; Psychological Patterns; Mental Disorders; At Risk Persons; Researchers; Predictor Variables; Graduate Students; Undergraduate Students; Student Research; Foreign Countries; Health Behavior; Student Characteristics; United Kingdom (England) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Psychohygiene; Well-being; Wellness; Wohlbefinden; Wissensbasis; Help-seeking behavior; Help-seeking behaviour; Hilfe suchendes Verhalten; Mental illness; Geisteskrankheit; Risikogruppe; Researcher; Forscher; Prädiktor; Graduate Study; Student; Students; Aufbaustudium; Graduiertenstudium; Hauptstudium; Studentin; Studentenforschung; Ausland; Health behaviour; Gesundheitsverhalten
Abstract	Studies of Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) have highlighted that the population may be at risk of developing symptoms of common mental health problems. Early intervention and preventative measures may reduce this risk, such as improving mental health literacy (MHL). However, it is unclear what the relationship is between MHL and outcomes such as help-seeking behaviour, psychological distress and wellbeing, in PGRs. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore this relationship. A secondary aim of this study was to compare data collected from PGRs with undergraduate students. Two hundred and forty-one PGRs from two universities in England completed an anonymous online quantitative survey, with PGRs reporting on their MHL, help-seeking behaviour, psychological distress, and wellbeing, in addition to demographic and academic characteristics. Results indicated that 70% of PGRs were experiencing symptoms categorised as mild to severe psychological distress. Stepwise multiple regressions revealed that lower levels of wellbeing predicted higher levels of distress and lower levels of help-seeking behaviour. Compared with undergraduate students, PGRs in this study reported higher levels of psychological distress compared to undergraduate students, after adjusting for age, sex, and previous diagnosis of a mental health problem, as well as MHL, after adjusting for sex and previous diagnosis (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed between the groups for help-seeking behaviour, or wellbeing (all p > 0.05). Study findings suggest that PGRs, at the start of the academic year, are distressed and may not be seeking appropriate help for their concerns. Further studies should explore the environmental factors that may exacerbate mental health concerns beyond that associated with a challenging degree, within the PGR population. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01