2021/12/07 by Nasir Almasri, Blair Read, Clara Vandeweerdt · 1 voice · 1 citation
Health Professions · Psychology · #Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions #Mental Health Treatment and Access #Employment and Welfare Studies
paper · doi:10.1017/s1049096521001396
openalex publication_date 2021/12/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
ABSTRACT There is a severe mental health crisis among graduate students in political science. We present findings from an original survey on the mental health of political science PhD students at seven US universities. Our results are concerning: 15.8% expressed thoughts of suicide in the two weeks prior to taking the survey. About 30% of respondents met the criteria for depression and only a third of those were receiving treatment. Approximately 32% met the criteria for anxiety and fewer than half were receiving treatment. We also found that students with poorer mental health were more isolated, had fewer friends in their department and fewer people to turn to for help, and were more likely to contemplate dropping out of their program. Our study raises important questions about the experiences of graduate students during the PhD program and serves as an urgent call to action to address the well-being of our colleagues.