Researching the Researchers: Psychological Distress and Psychosocial Stressors According to Career Stage in Mental Health Researchers

Abstract Background Although there are many benefits and privileges associated with working in academia, this career path often involves a range of structural and organisational stressors that can be detrimental to wellbeing and increase susceptibility to mental ill health among academic staff and students. This exploratory study examines experiences of work-related stressors, psychological distress, and mental health diagnoses among mental health researchers. Differences in outcomes were compared across career stages including postgraduate students, research support staff, early-middle career researchers, and senior researchers. MethodsThis 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 Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Thoughts of suicide was assessed using three questions adapted from 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 (research support staff, students, early-middle career researchers, and senior researchers). Group comparisons of work-related psychosocial exposures and DASS-21 general distress and related sub-scores were conducted across career stages. Results Differences in ‘demands at work’ and the ‘work-life balance’ domain were observed across career stages, with scores lowest among support staff (p=0.01). In contrast, scores in ‘social capital’ and ‘health and wellbeing domains’ were highest among research 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 academic career commencement. ConclusionsDespite 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 the modifiable stressors at each career stage could improve the overall mental health and wellbeing of mental health researchers.