Abstract
Background: A group particularly exposed to the occurrence of disorders in the sphere of the psyche are young people with a newly developing personality structure and a sense of identity. In the available literature there are few reports describing the mental health of doctoral students—a group that is affected by a particular group of stressors. The aim of the research was to assess the mental health of PhD students at Polish universities. Material and Methods: The Polish adaptation of the GHQ Questionnaire-28, developed by David Goldberg et al. was used in the research. PhD students from all universities associated in the National Representation of Doctoral Students were invited to take part in the research. A total of 576 completed questionnaires were received. Results: It was found that depression is statistically more frequent in doctoral students who are not in any relationship with another person; anxiety/insomnia is more common in women than men and less frequently in doctoral students of general than in technical universities. Conclusions: (1) More than half of the surveyed students complain about the deterioration of mental health. The most commonly reported symptom groups are anxiety and insomnia, followed by social dysfunctions and somatic symptoms. (2) Depression is statistically more common in people who are not in any relationship with another person and anxiety and insomnia are statistically more common in women than in men and statistically less frequent in doctoral students of general universities than technical universities. (3) In view of the presented results, educating young adults in the field of self-awareness in the field of mental health seems to be particularly important.
Highlights
A real epidemic of mental disorders has been observed in the world, which worsens the quality of lives of those affected, their families and beloved ones
At the stage of recruiting study participants, a purposeful selection was used (PhD students from all universities associated with the National Representation of Doctoral Students were invited to take part in the research)
The World Health Organization (WHO) [18,19] defines mental health as a state of well-being in which each person realizes their own potential, is able to cope with normal life stress, work efficiently and fruitfully, as well as contribute to the community
Summary
A real epidemic of mental disorders has been observed in the world, which worsens the quality of lives of those affected, their families and beloved ones. We live in a state of permanent escalation of expectations, and we are overwhelmed by tasks that never end. This makes us perceive our life as being difficult [4]. A group exposed to the occurrence of disorders in the sphere of the psyche are young people with a newly developing personality structure and a sense of identity [5,6]. According to Unwin et al [8] and Fond et al [9], other common mental disorders in young adult learners include depressive, anxiety, sleep, and eating disorders
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