THE STATE OF GRADUATE STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES: ELEVEN YEARS AND 200,000 STUDENTS

Abstract

Graduate students are an essential part of the academic enterprise. Converging lines of evidence suggests that many graduate students experience high levels of emotional distress. Yet the true depth and breadth of this public health “crisis” has remained unclear. The present study used survey data collected from 187,427 American graduate students between 2008 and 2019 as part of the ACHA-NCHA II to demonstrate that moderate-to-severe emotional distress, psychiatric illness, and suicidality are common among graduate students. Remarkably nearly 1 in 3 students were diagnosed with or treated for one or more psychiatric disorders. Notably, every indicator of emotional distress and illness increased over the past decade, in some cases substantially, above and beyond contemporaneous shifts in demographic and institutional characteristics. This study represents the most comprehensive assessment to date, provides crucial information for refining research and policy, and sets the stage for efforts aimed at developing effective intervention strategies.