The pursuit of a graduate degree is rigorous and expensive. It requires an intense mental, emotional and physical commitment. So, should it come as a surprise that research from the American Psychological Association shows that Harvard, UC Berkeley and Penn State have all been sounding the alarm that graduate students are at a high risk for developing mental disorders? How severe a risk? Consider this: according to an article for The Atlantic magazine, “Graduate School Can Have Terrible Effects on People’s Health,” by Alia Wong, a team of Harvard-affiliated researchers surveyed 500 Ph.D. candidates from eight elite universities and found that approximately one of 10 of them had suicidal thoughts “at least several days within the prior two weeks.” Their responses represent a blaring cry for help that demands attention.
The Harvard study is by no means an outlier. The journal, Research Policy, reported in 2017 that 50 percent of Ph.D. students experience psychological distress and a third are at risk for psychiatric illnesses. A Wall Street Journal article referenced by the organization Grad Resources reports that graduate students are 20 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population. This number is reflected in the number of students seeking help from often understaffed university mental health facilities. Those numbers rose 50 percent over the past five years. These statistics are backed up by a study in the journal Nature Biotechnology, which concluded that almost 40 percent of graduate students surveyed said they suffered from depression compared to only about 6 percent of the general population. We are accustomed to being warned about other things that are deemed to be hazardous to our health such as cigarettes, high cholesterol, not buckling our seatbelts or the dangers of hypertension and elevated glucose levels. We even put expiration dates on milk! But there are no caveat emptor labels on graduate school admission applications.
Higher education can present a stressful environment for all students. Yet, the threat to mental health is greater among graduate students than undergraduate students. Why should that be? Think of it this way: the relationship between social life and emphasis on learning for undergrads is far more in balance for these students than for grad school students. A good part of the undergraduate’s life is becoming a social human being. It’s a gateway to adulthood, a time for new experiences and to know themselves better. Classes are challenging, but campus life is a far more collegial place where life-long friendships are formed, and philosophies are shaped. Graduate school is a narrowcast world where there is hardly any room for anything except to focus like a laser beam on an advanced degree.
According to a study in Nature Biotechnology there is a “strikingly high rates of anxiety and depression” among grad students. The study concludes that it is “situational” in nature. The American Council on Health and Science reports that graduate students are compelled to spend as much as 60 to 80 hours a week working on their degrees. It would explain why nearly half of them dropout before they achieve that goal. There is so little time for a social life, let alone for sleep or healthy eating, so it is no wonder that graduate students can feel overwhelmed, lonely and weary. Add to this the financial burden most grad students must assume with no guarantee of employment that will cover the debt they’ve incurred, and the stage is set for massive stress, depression and feelings of hopelessness. “CNN Money” has reported that three fifths of all graduate students don’t have access to scholarships, grants or tuition waivers to meet their financial obligations.
According to “Graduate School Can Have Terrible Effects on People’s Mental Health,” 40 percent of doctoral students surveyed had not secured a job in their field at the time they received their degree. This frightening prospect is complicated by the fact that along with their degree, graduate students leave campus with $70,000 to $140,000 in personal debt.
While there is no substitute for person to person therapy and evaluation, technology can play a role in self-awareness of suicidal thoughts and the preventing of acting on those impulses. A new app, Better Stop Suicide, created by a team of leading psychologists and digital health experts, has been launched globally across the Android and Apple app stores. It is a free app that, its authors say, is designed to “simply help people press their own stop button should suicidal thoughts come to them, and to buy time so they can find further help and support. The app is designed and built to help people stop while their emotions are running high, calm and slow the mind, and help people use their thinking brain.” The key features of the Better Stop Suicide app are: calming audio files, quick access to key phone contacts, gratitude checklist, built-in alarm clock, better sleep audio file, emotional needs “quick” check, helpful tasks to feel better and the ability to allow people to record a life-saving message to themselves.
Beyond dealing with mental health issues on campus, schools can and should do a better job of screening applicants in a noninvasive manner that protects the privacy of prospective graduate students, but triggers red flags that require further analysis, recommended treatment and coping mechanisms. Schools can use technology to track students at risk for mental health issues just as efficiently as they track students with remedial issues that need to be resolved, so they can succeed in the pursuit of their degrees.
Each year, 10 percent of college students report that they have seriously considered suicide and more than 1,100 college students die by suicide. Those students who need help the most are often the least likely to seek help on their own, even when services are available to them. The Interactive Screening Program (ISP) is an online tool offered by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and used by college and university counseling centers to reach distressed students and help connect them to mental health services before a crisis emerges.
“Oftentimes, feelings of shame, fear or uncertainty prevent students from seeking help,” said Dr. Christine Moutier, AFSP’s Chief Medical Officer. “Through ISP, we are able to reach those students who may be struggling with issues like anxiety, depression or adjustments to college life. Through a customized and highly confidential approach, ISP addresses individuals’ perceived barriers to getting help.”
Since its official launch in 2006, ISP has expanded to more than 100 colleges and universities nationwide and connected more than 40,000 students to a campus-based mental health professional. ISP is listed on the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s Best Practice Registry for Suicide Prevention. ISP is also currently being used by workplaces, law enforcement agencies and Employee Assistance Programs.
AFSP is encouraging all South-Dakota based colleges and universities that offer mental health services to students, including medical and technical schools, to apply to bring ISP to their school by submitting a proposal through AFSP’s website at www.afsp.org/ISPSD2019. Applications are accepted from February 28, 2019 through May 15, 2019; and the three selected new programs will launch in September 2019.
Be Strong—a national non-profit organization focused on preventing bullying through student-led youth empowerment—has launched an eight-week Resilience Program (http://bestrong.global/participate/resilience-program/) for schools throughout the U.S. The comprehensive program, which addresses the mental health threat posed by bullying, is offered at no charge to schools.
Bullying prevention and anti-bullying efforts over the past decade have not resulted in a reduction in bullying. In fact, bullying, cyberbullying, suicide and hopelessness among youth are on the rise. Be Strong’s mission is to reverse these trends by equipping and empowering youth to ignite a change in peer behavior.
Said Roy Moore, who now serves as chairman of the Be Strong board: “Adversity is everywhere, and unfortunately bullying and cyberbullying are increasing and having a major impact on the lives of young people and their families. We believe our youth deserve better. It is important for young people to understand they will encounter social aggression throughout life. That’s the purpose of Be Strong: to help young people learn how to navigate tough situations on their own. As an organization, we have had a significant impact over the past four years, and as more and more people become familiar and involved with our unique approach, we are looking forward to expanding our impact and helping young people and their parents, guardians, teachers and school administrators realize they don’t have to suffer and that there are ways they can deal with this kind of adversity.”
The program is composed of step-by-step lesson plans, 31 videos, activities, and thought-provoking breakout sessions, and teaches proven ways to reduce bullying, gain emotional maturity and independence, and build resilience. “In today’s fast paced and digitally engaged culture, it’s not always easy to find access to resources that help teach our kids to be resilient,” said Be Strong’s Chief Technology Officer RonO Polito. “One of our goals at Be Strong is to use technology to ensure schools and families can find information, training and tools that support and protect our children.”
Legislation authored by Rep. Mike Schlossberg that would support suicide prevention and mental health services at institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania passed the state Senate and was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf late last year. It might provide a blueprint for other higher institutions and states to deal with the mental health crisis on campus.
“It’s vitally important that we take the correct steps to help ensure mental health problems are addressed before a student is found contemplating suicide. A supportive community and the correct treatment can be the difference in helping a student stay on track toward success and it can save lives,” Schlossberg, D-Lehigh said.
Schlossberg’s legislation (H.B. 1822) would establish a certification process and standards for those schools which elect to become a Certified Suicide Prevention Institution of Higher Education. Through the Pennsylvania Department of Education, institutions would be recognized for their commitment to provide students with information and services to meet their mental health needs and to assist in the event a student experiences a mental health crisis. The proposal was initiated as a result of a study initiated by Sen. Vince Hughes, D-Phila., after multiple suicides at the University of Pennsylvania.
“As we become aware of mental health concerns, it is important we support and maintain initiatives such as this,” Hughes said. “This is a great start in promoting mental health in a positive way and putting students in a position to navigate difficult times. Many thanks to Representative Schlossberg and supporters in the House and Senate who came together to support this bill.”
“Mental health counseling was essential in helping me to deal with my own experiences with depression and anxiety when I was attending college,” Schlossberg said. “By making sure that students know which services and support are available to them, colleges and universities are able to demonstrate their commitment to their students and they should be recognized for doing so.
“Working in a bipartisan way with my Republican colleague Representative Kristin Phillips-Hill, we were able to garner support from many of our colleagues in both parties and from the House and Senate, because this issue is critical to the success of our next generation of leaders.” •
As the need for mental health professionals grows in the community at large, as well as the graduate school community, it appears that there is a surge in psychology majors seeking to meet the challenge of this and future generations. According to a 2017 issue of Monitor on Psychology (from the American Psychological Association) psychology as a field of study is more popular than ever. They cite the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics assertion that employment for psychologists will grow by 19 percent between 2014 and 2024, more than twice the average growth for all occupations. Already, the unemployment rate for psychologists is about one and half percent, much lower than the national average. Part of the reason for the surge is that undergraduate students are exposed to mandatory Psychology 101 courses. This exposes students to this field of study, which prompts some of them to become psychology majors when they weren’t previously inclined to do so.
According to the Center for Workforce Studies as reported by the American Psychological Association, this decade showed that the number of students receiving master’s degrees rose more than 50 percent over the previous decade. Similarly, in the same timeframe, doctoral degrees grew by more than 30 percent. Another reason why psychology careers are on the rise is that people are more accepting of the positive role psychology can play in their lives. This leads more to seek treatment and more believing in the concept of treatment as practitioners and concerned friends and family.
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