Engineering students and professionals living with a mental illness: an exploration of their experiences and challenges

Stigma of mental health conditions within engineering culture and its relation to help-seeking attitudes: Insights from the first year of a longitudinal study

“…To contribute to the understanding of the intersection of MHCs within engineering spaces, our team conducted a qualitative exploration of the experiences of three engineering students and professionals living with a diagnosed MHC [39]. Our results indicated that social stigma and self-stigma limited their helpseeking attitudes and successful treatment.…”

“…Our results indicated that social stigma and self-stigma limited their helpseeking attitudes and successful treatment. In addition, self-stigma was strongly related to the conflict between their engineering and MHC identities [39]. Important transition time points, such as graduating and starting their professional career, added additional strain on understanding and managing their MHC [31].…”

Work in Progress: Using Photovoice to Examine the Mental Health Experiences of Engineering Graduate Students During COVID-19

“…Results found that engineering students reported much higher levels of risk for serious mental illness (38% compared to 4% of reported U.S. adult population), and over two times more likely than the average college population to self-report some form of depression, anxiety, and PTSD-like symptoms [20]. Recent work by Sanchez-Pena et al has sought to expand on these findings, using qualitative research to explore experiences of engineers with a diagnosed mental illness [21]; preliminary findings discuss Jack, a late career engineer, and his journey with mental health from college to industry. Preliminary analysis highlights specific aspects of the culture of engineering influencing this journey, such as a lack of information on depression being shared while in college, the de-emphasis on socializing in his first job, and stigmatization faced once employers learned about his illness [21].…”

“…Recent work by Sanchez-Pena et al has sought to expand on these findings, using qualitative research to explore experiences of engineers with a diagnosed mental illness [21]; preliminary findings discuss Jack, a late career engineer, and his journey with mental health from college to industry. Preliminary analysis highlights specific aspects of the culture of engineering influencing this journey, such as a lack of information on depression being shared while in college, the de-emphasis on socializing in his first job, and stigmatization faced once employers learned about his illness [21]. These findings, although limited, highlight the importance of studying engineering graduate students' mental health.…”

In Their Own Words: How Aspects of Engineering Education Undermine Students’ Mental Health

“…In the past several years, nationwide surveys have found that undergraduate engineering students suffered from some mental health issues at significantly higher rates than the general U.S. population [2], [3]. Additionally, comparisons to other disciplines reveal that engineering undergraduate and graduate students are less likely than students in other disciplines to seek treatment for mental health problems [6], [7], and studies of the relationships between disciplinary stigma and help-seeking are underway [8]. Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence showing that belonging to a marginalized group in engineering, for example, identifying as a woman or as LGBTQ+, increases the likelihood of experiencing mental health challenges [1]- [4], [9]- [11].…”