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Mental Health and the PhD: Insights and Implications for Political Science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2021

Nasir Almasri Open the ORCID record for Nasir Almasri [Opens in a new window] ,
Blair Read Open the ORCID record for Blair Read [Opens in a new window]  and
Clara Vandeweerdt Open the ORCID record for Clara Vandeweerdt [Opens in a new window]
Nasir Almasri
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Blair Read
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Clara Vandeweerdt
Affiliation:
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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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.

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Article
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PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 55 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 347 - 353
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association

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