Graduate students’ mental health: Exploring experiences of isolation and loneliness

Abstract

Background A student psychological health survey, conducted in 2015-2016 among over 10,000 students at the University of Montreal (UdeM), gives an alarming picture of psychological distress associated to feelings of loneliness. The objective of this phenomenological study is to better understand the experience of isolation from the perspective of UdeM graduate students. Methods As part of a qualitative methods course, five semi-directed interviews and a focus group (n = 8) were conducted with graduate students and a psychologist from UdeM. Hybrid thematic analysis of verbatim and inter-rater debriefing were conducted using NVivo 11 software. Results Thematic analysis illustrates that most graduate students feel isolated at some point during their studies, but also that the impact and the meaning of this loneliness feeling is variable. It can be perceived positively when it is sought, temporary and/or allows one to be more productive. It can be perceived negatively when it is involuntary, constant over time and/or does not improve academic effectiveness. Personality, academic and social contexts, as well as support by peers and supervisors appear to modify feelings of isolation. Conclusions This study demonstrates the importance of context for graduate students' feelings of isolation. Further research is needed to move towards saturation of perspectives around this phenomenon. Key messages Graduate students reported that the experience and the repercussions of isolation may differ in whether it is sought or involuntary. Factors that seem to influence the feeling of loneliness include academic context and supervisor support. Further research is needed to discriminate the impact of these different contextual factors.

Exploring Scholarly Productivity, Supports, and Challenges of Multinational, Female Graduate Students During a Global Pandemic

“…Although being a graduate student is a unique challenge within itself that is already fraught with adversity, the pandemic exacerbated that for some participants. Factors such as isolation and loneliness, stress, conflicts and lack of support, work/life imbalance, struggles with time management, and reduced motivation and burnout are all associated with graduate school (Allen et al, 2020;Kalubi et al, 2020;Yusuf et al, 2020). Add in navigating a global pandemic and the personal experiences that come with that, and it could be a powder keg for graduate students.…”

Exploring fear of happiness among university students: The role of perfectionism, academic burnout, loneliness, and hopelessness

“…Being lonely has been found to be negatively associated with subjective happiness and social connectedness (Satici, Uysal & Deniz, 2016). Loneliness can be positive as long as it is voluntary and increases productivity; however, it is negative if prolonged in time and hinders the progress of students (Kalubi et al, 2020). Lonely individuals are likely to have negative beliefs about themselves and others, so they may exhibit characteristics such as hopelessness (Heinrich & Gullone, 2006) with a lack of control over events ( € Ozdemir, Kuzucu & Ak, 2014).…”