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PhD Studies Hurt Mental Health, But Less than Previously Feared

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Abstract

We study the mental health of PhD students in Sweden using comprehensive administrative data on prescriptions, specialist care visits, hospitalizations, and causes of death. We find about 7% (5%) of PhD students receive medication or diagnosis for depression (anxiety) in a given year. These prevalence rates are less than one-third of the earlier reported survey-based estimates, and even after adjusting for difference in methodology, 43% (72%) of the rates in the literature. Nevertheless, PhD students still fare worse than their peers not pursuing graduate studies. Our difference-in-differences research design can attribute at least 80% of this health disadvantage to the time in the PhD program. This deterioration suggests doctoral studies causally affect mental health.

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  • Keloharju, Matti & Knüpfer, Samuli & Müller, Dagmar & Tåg, Joacim, 2022. "PhD Studies Hurt Mental Health, But Less than Previously Feared," Working Paper Series 1435, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 06 Dec 2023.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1435
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    1. Nikki Forrester, 2021. "Mental health of graduate students sorely overlooked," Nature, Nature, vol. 595(7865), pages 135-137, July.
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      Keywords

      PhD Studies; Mental Health; Depression; Anxiety; Suicide;
      All these keywords.

      JEL classification:

      • A23 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Graduate
      • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
      • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
      • I29 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Other
      • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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