ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Psichiatrica 2020 December;61(4):143-52

DOI: 10.23736/S0391-1772.20.02074-9

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Psychological distress among doctoral scholars: its association with perseverance and passion

Aleena M. SUNNY ¹ ✉, Fathima G. ASHRAF T ¹, Sujith V.S. ¹, Shinto THOMAS ², Kaustav CHAKRABORTY ³, Sibnath DEB ⁴

¹ Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India; ² Department of Psychology, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India; ³ Department of English, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India; ⁴ Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, Sriperumbudur, India

BACKGROUND: The study examined psychological distress and its association with perseverance and passion for long term goals among 400 Ph.D. scholars from Pondicherry University.
METHODS: The sample collected through multi-stage convenience sampling technique was assessed using a Structured Questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Grit Scale and Flourishing Scale.
RESULTS: The results showed that 7.5% and 4.5% had severe and extremely severe depression, 12.5% and 20% had severe and extremely severe anxiety, and 5% and 1.5% had severe and extremely severe stress. The data was collected from one Indian University and analyzed based the information gathered through self-report inventory.
CONCLUSIONS: Congenial family environment, good relationship with parents and friends were observed to be positive factors for psychological well-being. There is an urgent need to extend mental health support services to the PhD scholars especially for those who were suffering from severe and extremely severe psychological distress.

KEY WORDS: Psychological distress; Students; Universities