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Graduate students in occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, and speech-language pathology programs in the United States were surveyed using an online questionnaire in spring 2020. The 1,916 students reported on mental health diagnoses and completed the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale and three Hewitt-Flett Perfectionism subscales. Students in all four programs scored significantly higher than national norms on depression, anxiety, and stress; and females scored higher than males on anxiety and stress. There were small differences between students in the four programs, with speech-language pathology students demonstrating higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. First-year students had higher levels of anxiety than third-year students, and third-year students had lower levels of stress than both first-year and second-year students. All three perfectionism subscales were positively, although weakly, correlated to depression, anxiety, and stress. Finally, students reported significantly higher rates of anxiety after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic than prior to the pandemic. These findings can be used to inform health science graduate programs of concerns related to student stress, anxiety, and depression as they re-evaluate program or curricular design. J Allied Health 2022; 51(1):e15-e25.
THERE IS GROWING evidence that mental health disorders are increasing in frequency and severity across college campuses.11-31 Graduate students are of particular concern due to a variety of stressors that are introduced or exacerbated during this phase of their education. According to a recent study, graduate students may be six times more likely to experience significant mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.141 Graduate students also report higher levels of stress than undergraduate students.® In addition, suicidal ideation among graduate students has been found to be greater than 7%, making this a major concern for administrators and faculty.1® Understanding the mental health status of graduate students, particularly those in professional programs, is an important consideration for higher education, especially in light of the changes and adjustments that have been placed upon students due to the COVID-19 pandemic.®
There may be reason to pay special attention to professional graduate programs, especially those in the health sciences. Depression and anxiety rates among health science students are above those for the general population.8-141 These mental health challenges may be attributed to a variety of factors that professional degree students face, such...