Associations among Research Funding Status, Marital Status, Number of Children, and Psychological Well-Being of Social Medicine Researchers: A Gender-Based Analysis from Web Survey of Medical Researchers

OBJECTIVES: Research funding is a limited resource that not only affects scientific progress but also significantly affects researchers' career paths and family formation. Research environments in social medicine are rapidly changing, and increasing attention is being paid to researchers' mental health. In this study, we aimed to examine the associations among research funding status, marital status, number of children, and mental health of researchers in social medicine by gender. METHODS: We conducted a web-based survey among Japanese medical researchers from December 2022 to January 2023. Among them, the present study focused on researchers in social medicine by sex; researchers who gave their consent and self-identified their primary field as social medicine were included. The primary outcome was poor mental health, defined as a score of less than 13 on the World Health Organization-5 Well-Being Index. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations among three factors (shortage of research funds, marital status, and number of children) adjusted for age, employment type, and research effort. RESULTS: Responses from 567 participants were analyzed. Among female researchers, the lack of research funding was associated with poor mental health. Among male researchers, being single and not having children were associated with poor mental health. CONCLUSIONS: Research funding status, marital status, and number of children may be associated with mental health among social medicine researchers, and these factors differed between men and women. Although causal relationships cannot be inferred owing to the cross-sectional design of this study, tailored interventions considering gender-specific contexts may be necessary to support researchers' mental health.