research about depression in students pdf

Depression as a concealable stigmatized identity: What influences whether students conceal or reveal their depression in undergraduate research experiences? Further, the psychology literature has demonstrated that when people feel insecure in their social environments, it can cause them to focus on a hierarchical view of themselves and others, which can foster feelings of inferiority and increase their vulnerability to depression (Gilbert etal., 2009). Conversely, students described that mentors who were willing to help them alleviated their depressive feelings. I guess thats really how [my depression] would relate directly to research.. Byars-Winston, A. M., Branchaw, J., Pfund, C., Leverett, P., & Newton, J. Culturally diverse undergraduate researchers academic outcomes and perceptions of their research mentoring relationships, Depression and the effects of positive and negative feedback on expectations, evaluations, and performance, The disclosure processes model: Understanding disclosure decision making and postdisclosure outcomes among people living with a concealable stigmatized identity, Revealing concealable stigmatized identities: The impact of disclosure motivations and positive first-disclosure experiences on fear of disclosure and well-being, The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Students in the natural sciences may be particularly at risk for depression, given that such majors are noted to be particularly stressful due to their competitive nature and course work that is often perceived to weed students out(Everson etal., 1993; Strenta etal., 1994; American College Health Association, 2019; Seymour and Hunter, 2019). Graduate Teaching Assistants. We chose to conduct semistructured interviews rather than a survey because of the need for initial exploration of this area, given the paucity of prior research. We initially hypothesized that three features of undergraduate researchresearch mentors, the lab environment, and failuremay have the potential to exacerbate student depression. For a student with depression, a small comment that praises the students work may not be sufficient for the student to process that comment as praise. In sum, students with depression highlighted that a lab environment full of positive and encouraging individuals was helpful for their depression, whereas isolating or competitive environments and negative interactions with others often resulted in more depressive feelings. It really depends on the grad students and the leadership and the mood that theyre in., Interviewer:How does it affect your depression when the grad students are in a bad mood?, Abby:It definitely makes me feel worse. However, we did collect information about whether students had been formally diagnosed with depression and whether they had been treated for depression. (PDF) DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF DEPRESSION AMONG - ResearchGate Additionally, students noted that their depression made them more self-conscious, which sometimes held them back from sharing research ideas with their mentors or from taking risks such as applying to competitive programs. Students Experiences of Failure Make a Research-Based Course Feel Authentic. () I find sadly, I hate to admit it, but I do kind of run to [my lab]. In addition to being self-conscious, students highlighted that their depression caused them to be overly self-critical, and some described experiencing imposter phenomenon (Clance and Imes, 1978) or feeling like they were not talented enough to be in research and were accepted into a lab by a fluke or through luck. However, we also found that undergraduate research can positively affect students depression. Finally, students described that depression often made them feel less social, and they struggled to socially engage with other members of the lab when they were feeling down. Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood. () We understand the stresses in the lab. In fact, 50% of students sampled nationally from public R1 institutions consider leaving their undergraduate research experience prematurely, and about half of those students, or 25% of all students, ultimately leave their undergraduate research experience (Cooper etal., 2019c). Jones, N. P., Papadakis, A. 20, No. They described feeling less social and feeling overly self-critical. That kind of dragged things on, and I guess deepened my depression., Freddy:Often times when I go to my office in the evening, that is when I would [ sic] be prone to be more depressed. We expand upon our findings by integrating literature on depression with the information that students provided in the interviews about how research mentors can best support students. Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies or activities. We recruited a national sample of 35 undergraduates engaged in undergraduate research at 12 different public R1 institutions. And that some people know a lot more than I do and will go further in this than I will.. Avoid providing harsh criticism and remember to praise undergraduates. () Its hard because you did all this other stuff before so you can plan for the research, and then something happens and all the stuff you did was worthless basically., Julie: I felt very negatively about myself [when a project failed] and pretty panicked whenever something didnt work because I felt like it was a direct reflection on my effort and/or intelligence, and then it was a big glaring personal failure.. Decreased energy, fatigue, or being "slowed down". While students primarily expressed that their relationships with others in the lab affected their depression, some students explained that they struggled most with depression when the lab was empty; they described that they did not like being alone in the lab, because a lack of stimulation allowed their minds to be filled with negative thoughts. Undergraduate researchers described both psychological and physical symptoms that manifested as a result of their depression and highlighted how such symptoms prevented them from performing to their full potential in undergraduate research. Therefore, students depression may be exacerbated in challenging undergraduate research experiences, because studies have shown that depression is positively correlated with student stress (Hish etal., 2019). Its really important because it contextualizes those times when I am feeling depressed. In Spring 2019, we emailed the 496 students, explaining that we were interested in interviewing students with depression about their experiences in undergraduate research. 2021;46 (5):519-538. doi: 10.1007/s10755-021-09552-y. bStudents were invited to report multiple ways in which they were treated for their depression; other treatments included lifestyle changes and meditation. Hes like, You know, this is my lab too and I am here to help you as well, and just reminds me that Im not shouldering this burden by myself., Ashlyn: The graduate student who I work with is very kind and has a lot of patience and he really understands a lot of things and provides simple explanations. PDF The Impact of Depression on the Academic Productivity of - ICMPE Abstract Aim: To estimate the prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and associated factors in a population of college students. Additionally, students reported that having access to adequate guidance and a social support network within the research lab also positively affected their depression. However, experiencing failure and the stress and fatigue that often accompany it may be particularly tough for students with depression (Aldwin and Greenberger, 1987; Mongrain and Blackburn, 2005). Abby:Sometimes [the grad students] are not in a good mood. Further, research mentors can purposefully work to destigmatize mental health issues by explicitly stating that struggling with mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, is common. Therefore, we recommend that research mentors try to establish relationships with their undergraduates and explicitly invite them to ask questions or seek help when needed. Further, when doing research, students felt less creative and less willing to take risks, which may alter the quality of their work. Further, one study found that self-esteem is negatively correlated and stress is positively correlated with graduate student depression; presumably research environments that challenge students self-esteem and induce stress are likely contributing to depressive symptoms among graduate students (Kreger, 1995). Meleana: I would say [my depression]tends to come out more in being more reserved in asking questions because I think that comes more like a fear-based thing where Im like, Oh, I dont feel like Im good enough and so I dont want to ask these questions because then my mentors will, I dont know, think that Im dumb or something.. I think that can really help with depression., Kelley: I know that anytime I need to talk to [my postdoc mentors] about something theyre always there for me. Freddy: I find mechanical things like actually running an experiment in the lab, I can pretty much do regardless of how Im feeling. A., Steinwand, B., Bruno, J., & Corwin, L. A. A lot of times he said I had terrible judgment. Choosing and leaving science in highly selective institutions, The role of studentadvisor interactions in apprenticing undergraduate researchers into a scientific community of practice. 2020 K. M. Cooper, L. E. Gin, etal. [Depression] definitely does not help with the motivation.. However, higher rates have been reported, with one study estimating that up to 84% of undergraduates experience some level of depression (Garlow etal., 2008). So, I feel like I wouldve been able to put myself out there more and take more risks, reaching out to others to take opportunities when I was in lab.. Sometimes just talking makes you feel better, but also having people that believe in you can really help you get out of that negative spiral. Therefore, praise can help calibrate their overly negative self-perceptions. dStudents were asked whether they felt financially stable, particularly during the undergraduate research experience. That has really put a very short cap on what Ive been able to do. 2, 16 March 2022 | CBELife Sciences Education, Vol. In fact, praise has been shown to enhance individuals motivation and subsequent productivity (Hancock, 2002; Henderlong and Lepper, 2002), factors highlighted by students as negatively affecting their depression. Students who fail to achieve predefined research goals may still experience many positive outcomes as a result of CURE participation. Approximately18% of US adults suffer from anxiety (Kessler, Chiu, Demler, & Walters, 2005) and 75% of them experience their first episode by age 21 (Kessler, Berglund et al., 2005). Based on the literature on the stressors of undergraduate research experiences and the literature identifying some potential causes of graduate student depression, we identified three aspects of undergraduate research that may exacerbate undergraduates depression. Student-level demographics, research demographics, and depression demographics of the 35 interview participants. There is flexibility in allowing me to then care for myself., Interviewer: Why is the flexibility helpful given the depression?, Meleana:Because sometimes for me things just take a little bit longer when Im feeling down. Assessment of course-based undergraduate research experiences: A meeting report. Hish, A. J., Nagy, G. A., Fang, C. M., Kelley, L., Nicchitta, C. V., Dzirasa, K., & Rosenthal, M. Z. 20, No. Additional symptoms of depression include weight changes, difficulty sleeping, loss of energy, difficulty thinking or concentrating, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, and suicidality (APA, 2013). Its being alone. In the following sections, we present aspects of undergraduate research and examine how each positively and/or negatively affected students depression using embedded student quotes to highlight the relationships between related ideas. Students also remarked that establishing a more personal relationship could help build the trust needed in order for undergraduates to confide in their research mentors about their depression, which they perceived would strengthen their relationships further because they could be honest about when they were not feeling well or their mentors might even check in with them in times where they were acting differently than normal. Showing considerable potential for . was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellowship (DGE-1311230) and K.M.C. Psychology Depression Students and Depression April 2020 Authors: Usman Khan National University of Sciences and Technology Download file PDF Abstract and Figures The Research is about. While the relationships between undergraduates and graduate, postdoc, and faculty mentors seemed to either alleviate or worsen students depressive symptoms, depending on the quality of the relationship, students in this study exclusively described their relationships with other undergraduates as positive for their depression. While depression results from a complex interaction of psychological, social, and biological factors (World Health Organization, 2018), studies have shown that increased stress caused by college can be a significant contributor to student depression (Dyson and Renk, 2006). While these studies have focused on graduate students, and there are certainly notable distinctions between graduate and undergraduate research, the research-related factors that affect graduate student depression, including worklife balance, relationships with mentors, research environment, stress, and self-esteem, may also be relevant to depression among undergraduates conducting research. New research, involving millions of people worldwide over decades, adds to worries that heavy use of high-potency . Academic performance can be viewed as a direct parallel to workforce performance, with students belonging to a unique set of individuals whose ability to perform can be measured on criteria applied by an observer and by self-report. Cooper, K. M., Blattman, J. N., Hendrix, T., & Brownell, S. E. The impact of broadly relevant novel discoveries on student project ownership in a traditional lab course turned CURE, Coming out in class: Challenges and benefits of active learning in a biology classroom for LGBTQIA students. I feel like I cant approach them to ask for their understanding in a certain situation. low self . I think more about how Im feeling and the lack of progress Im making, and the hopelessness Im feeling. In this exploratory interview study, we aimed to 1) describe how undergraduates symptoms of depression affect their research experiences, 2) understand how undergraduate research affects students feelings of depression, and 3) identify recommendations based on the literature and undergraduates reported experiences to promote a positive research experience for students with depression. () [He was] kind of harassing people, demeaning them, lying to them, et cetera, et cetera. 1644236). We acknowledge the ASU LEAP Scholars for helping us create the original survey and Rachel Scott for her helpful feedback on earlier drafts of this article. was partially supported by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence grant (no. Background: Depression is a common disorder that impacts an individual's ability to perform life activities, including those required by the workplace. That is, students fear that their mentor would think negatively about them or judge them if they were to ask questions that their mentor thought they should know the answer to. 2, 13 January 2023 | CBELife Sciences Education, Vol. Students in this study highlighted that the leadership of the lab, meaning graduate students, postdocs, lab managers, and PIs, were often responsible for establishing the tone of the lab; that is, if they were in a bad mood it would trickle down and negatively affect the moods of the undergraduates. Students explained that if they are not able to take the time to focus on recovering during a depressive episode, then they typically continue to struggle with depression, which negatively affects their research. So having that validation [from my graduate mentor] is important, because it flies in the face of what my depression tells me., Brian: It reminds you that you exist outside of this negative world that youve created for yourself, and people dont see you how you see yourself sometimes.. NIMH Depression Henry, M. A., Shorter, S., Charkoudian, L., Heemstra, J. M., & Corwin, L. A. Therefore, as the science community strives to be more diverse and inclusive (Intemann, 2009), it is important that we understand more about the relationship between depression and scientific research, because negative experiences with depression in scientific research may be contributing to the underrepresentation of these groups. It can also be helpful to explain to students why the research project as a whole is important in the context of the greater scientific community. I become very introspective. Enter your email address below and we will send you your username, If the address matches an existing account you will receive an email with instructions to retrieve your username. Interviewer: Considering your experience in undergraduate research, what tends to trigger your feelings of depression?, Heather: Probably just not getting things right. Feelings of irritability, frustration or restlessness. However, the literature suggests that students with depression may find experiencing failure in research to be especially difficult (Elliott etal., 1997; Mongrain and Blackburn, 2005; Jones etal., 2009). We provide empathy on a different level., Meleana: Its great to have solidarity in being confused about something, and its just that is a form of validation for me too. Akhtarul Islam , Sutapa Dey Barna, Hasin Raihan, Md. However, this could be because women have higher rates of depression or because males are less likely to report having depression; clinical bias, or practitioners subconscious tendencies to overlook male distress, may underestimate depression rates in men (Smith etal., 2018). Undergraduate researchers commonly described five additional ways in which their depression affected their research; for a detailed description of each way students research was affected and for example quotes, see Table 2. The Temporal Relationship between Depressive Symptoms - ResearchGate As we aim to create a more inclusive scientific community, we argue that we need to examine the relationship between depression and scientific research. An Exploratory Study of Students with Depression in Undergraduate One researcher (L.E.G.) This stress exacerbated their depression. We were particularly interested in how students symptoms of depression affected their experiences in undergraduate research. Therefore, it may be helpful to encourage all lab members to work in a shared space to enhance social interactions among students and to maximize the likelihood that undergraduates have access to help when needed. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). This study examined the prevalence of mental health problems among university students. We also suggest that research mentors take time to explain to students why their tasks in the lab, no matter how small, contribute to the greater research project (Cooper etal., 2019a). Students with depression often have low self-esteem and are especially self-critical. Further, students with depression often have low self-esteem or low personal judgment of the worthiness that is expressed in the attitudes the individual holds towards oneself (Heatherton etal., 2003, p. 220; Sowislo and Orth, 2013). In sum, students described that, when they experienced a depressive episode, they were not able to perform to the best of their ability, and it sometimes took a toll on them to try to act like nothing was wrong, when they were internally struggling with depression. Students acknowledged how beneficial their relationships with graduate students and postdocs could be. Therefore, we explicitly asked undergraduate researchers how, if at all, their depression affected these three factors. Rauckhorst, W. H., Czaja, J. Effect of Anxiety, Stress and Depression on Suicidal Ideation among 20, No. Not necessarily that your experiment didnt turn out to produce the data that you wanted, but just adding the wrong enzyme or messing something up like that. Mentoring: Mentors can be an integral part of a students research experience, bolstering their connections with others in the science community, scholarly productivity, and science identity, as well as providing many other benefits (Thiry and Laursen, 2011; Prunuske etal., 2013; Byars-Winston etal., 2015; Aikens etal., 2016, 2017; Thompson etal., 2016; Estrada etal., 2018). Students described that their depression negatively affected their productivity in the lab. Depression is one of the top undergraduate mental health concerns, and the rate of depression among undergraduates continues to rise (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2017). Distress and mental health issues among college students is an emerging topic of study. 3, 26 July 2021 | CBELife Sciences Education, Vol. 12 However, several other studies 4,9,13,14 among college students have reported the prevalence of depression to be varying from 10% to 27% which is much lower than our observations. Of the 768 undergraduate researchers who completed the survey, 65% (n = 496) indicated that they would be interested in participating in a follow-up interview. Thats another day wasted for me and it just puts more stress, which just adds to the depression.. Having to do an experiment over and over again. Environmental stress, academic stress, and family and monetary stress have also been shown to be predictive of depression severity in biomedical doctoral students (Hish etal., 2019). Research involving minors (under 18 years of age) as subjects, (even 17 year old college students) in most instances requires a signed parental permission, as well as the assent/consent of the student. Request full-text PDF. And I think I wont personally tell her that Im taking a mental health day, but Ill say, I cant come in today, but Ill come in Friday and do those extra hours. And shes like, OK great, Ill see you then. And it makes me feel good, because it helps me take care of myself first and then I can take care of everything else I need to do, which is amazing., Meleana:Knowing that [my mentors] would be flexible if I told them that Im crazy busy and cant come into work nearly as much this week [helps my depression]. . Jones, M. T., Barlow, A. E., & Villarejo, M. Importance of undergraduate research for minority persistence and achievement in biology. Aikens, M. L., Sadselia, S., Watkins, K., Evans, M., Eby, L. T., & Dolan, E. L. A social capital perspective on the mentoring of undergraduate life science researchers: An empirical study of undergraduatepostgraduatefaculty triads, Cultural differences in the predictors of depression, Stress and depression: A test of the buffering model of social support. I just feel like Im not as creative with my problem solving skills when I am depressed as when I am not depressed., Held back from taking risks or contributing thoughts and ideas. Julie: My memory absolutely goes to hell, especially my short-term memory. Aikens, M. L., Robertson, M. M., Sadselia, S., Watkins, K., Evans, M., Runyon, C. R. Race and gender differences in undergraduate research mentoring structures and research outcomes. Depression has been shown to disproportionately affect many populations that are underrepresented or underserved within the scientific community, including females (American College Health Association, 2018; Evans etal., 2018), first-generation college students (Jenkins etal., 2013), individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds (Eisenberg etal., 2007), members of the LGBTQ+ community (Eisenberg etal., 2007; Evans etal., 2018), and people with disabilities (Turner and Noh, 1988). 21, No. It is possible that students in other majors may have different challenges and opportunities for students with depression, as well as different disciplinary stigmas associated with mental health. This work was a qualitative interview study intended to document a previously unstudied phenomenon: depression in the context of undergraduate research experiences. Some aspects of the lab environment, which we define as students physical, social, or psychological research space, could be particularly beneficial for students with depression. If you or a student experience symptoms of depression and want help, there are resources available to you. We intend to conduct future quantitative studies to further explore how students identities and aspects of their research affect their experiences with depression in undergraduate research. Because inferences about the importance of these themes cannot be drawn from these counts, they are not included in the results of the paper (Maxwell, 2010). Factors that predict life sciences student persistence in undergraduate research experiences. Using screening tools, three or more students were screened positive in every ten students in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) (Al-Busaidi et Results:Diagnosed depression was associated with a 0.49 point, orhalf a letter grade, decrease in student GPA, while treatment wasassociated with a protective effect of approximately 0.44 points.The self-reported data regarding the impact of depression on theperformance of academic tasks was consistent with these findings.Depressed students repo.
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