Experiences of abuse were identified as a significant factor influencing suicidal thoughts. Reports of verbal abuse and derogatory behavior were high, with 19.9% and 23.5% of respondents experiencing each, respectively. (Image courtesy of Pixabay)
SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent study has highlighted the severe mental health challenges faced by graduate students, who endure stress on two fronts due to their dual roles as students and research workers.
According to a report from the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and the Empathy Occupational and Environmental Medicine Center, one in three graduate students has been diagnosed with depression, and one in five has considered suicide in the past year.
The survey, conducted online in September and October of last year by a research team including Park Min-young, a clinical instructor in occupational and environmental medicine at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, targeted full-time master’s, doctoral, and integrated postgraduate students.
Certain fields of study and specialized graduate schools were excluded from the survey due to their distinct characteristics.
Out of the 365 respondents, 30.7% reported having been diagnosed with depression, a significantly higher rate compared to the 4.8% and 4.7% depression diagnosis rates among individuals in their twenties and thirties, respectively, as reported in the 2021 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Additionally, rates of anxiety disorder, sleep disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnoses among the respondents were 23.0%, 19.5%, and 9.6%, respectively.
The survey also measured depressive symptoms, revealing that 34.8% of the participants showed scores indicative of clinical depression. Factors such as lack of a fixed income, imbalance between effort and reward, and difficulties in balancing work with family and social life were linked to higher depression risks.
Furthermore, 20.2% of the respondents had contemplated suicide in the past year, significantly exceeding the national averages for people in their twenties and thirties. Rates of actual suicide planning and attempts among the graduate students were 7.7% and 2.2%, respectively.
Experiences of abuse were identified as a significant factor influencing suicidal thoughts. Reports of verbal abuse and derogatory behavior were high, with 19.9% and 23.5% of respondents experiencing each, respectively. Additionally, 40.4% reported conflicts or disputes with their academic advisors.
In-depth interviews with ten participants revealed complaints about excessive workloads, dependent relationships with professors, and mental health crises.
The research team criticized the lack of social recognition of graduate students as workers and the absence of efforts to address the organizational causes behind the deteriorating mental health of student-research workers.
Based on the findings, the team recommended measures such as strengthening the responsibility of schools as employers, establishing written agreements for safe research activities, providing financial support, ensuring time for physical and mental recovery, and developing a system for mental health crisis intervention.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
