The transition from university to work: what happens to mental health? A longitudinal study

Abstract

BackgroundWhen enrolled in university or college, students receive varying degrees of training in managing practical situations in the workplace. However, after graduation, the young professionals meet their responsibilities at work. The experience of the transition between education and work may connote a feeling of professional uncertainty and lack of coping, both of which are important factors related to young professionals’ mental health. The gap between the two areas of knowledge is frequently described as ‘practice shock’. Very few studies of mental health among students and young professional workers have used longitudinal designs. In the present study, we conducted a longitudinal investigation of change and stability in the levels of psychological distress among healthcare professionals, teachers, and social workers from the end of their study programs until 3 years into their subsequent professional lives. We also assessed the extent to which psychological distress at the end of the study program, sociodemographic characteristics, coping with the professional role, the psychosocial workplace environment, and experience of overall quality of life can predict psychological distress 3 years into their professional lives.MethodsPsychological distress was measured using the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12). A total of 773 students/young professionals participated at both the end of their study programs and 3 years into their professional lives. Group differences were examined by the chi-squared test, independent samples t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. McNemar’s test were applied to identify changes in the proportion of cases at the two time points. Linear and logistic regressions were employed to identify factors associated with GHQ-12 Likert scores and GHQ-12 case scores, respectively.ResultsPsychological distress was significantly reduced at 3 years for health professionals. Among the social workers and teachers, the change in psychological distress was not significant during the same period. Higher current quality of life contributed to lower psychological distress.ConclusionsOur findings support assumptions about higher levels of mental health problems as students, with mental health improving as health professionals and social workers move into professional work.

Mental Health in Young Healthcare and Social Work Professionals: Associations with Psychosocial Work Environment Factors

“…Instead, for the social workers, the demand and support variables introduced by Karasek and Theorell [31] were systematically associated with their mental health. This is partly in accordance with the ndings from the three-year follow up, where higher ratings on demand were associated with poorer mental health in this group [17]. For the social workers, therefore, higher demands appear to predict poorer mental health consistently over the rst six years in professional practice.…”

“…Based on Karasek's [31] Job Demands and Control (JDC) model, three variables are constructed based on responses to the Job Content Questionnaire [JDQ;32]. The instrument has been used in a range of national and international studies of psychosocial work environment factors [e.g., 17,22,33,34]. Demands refer to the work pressure and the workload experienced in the job, and was measured with ve items (Cronbach's α = 0.77) Control, sometimes coined decision latitude, refers to the level of control the employee has over decisions that are important to his work, as well as the possibility of developing and using personal skills in the job.…”

“…A longitudinal study from Norway found that nursing students' mental health was worsened during the course of the education program, whereas no signi cant changes was shown for students of occupational therapy and physiotherapy [16]. Similarly, between graduation and three years after, healthcare professionals (nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists) improved their mental health signi cantly, while the trend of improvement was not statistically signi cant for teachers and social work professionals [17].…”

Preparing students for social work practice in contemporary societies: insights from a transnational research network

“…Here, however, it is more relevant to describe the shock as a practice anxiety (Geirdal et al 2019) that disappears rather quickly through the realisation of coherence between theory and practice after a short time as a professional social worker. Such a finding may have many implications both for understanding of program coherence within education, and for transitional coherence between education and social work practice.…”

Lelki egészség Nyíregyháza lakosai körében

“…A stresszinthez hasonlóan a 250.000-300.000 Ft-os jövedelmi kategóriába tartozók mentális funkciócsökkenése a legkifejezettebb. Egy 2019-es norvég vizsgálatban hasonló eredményeket kaptak, miszerint a magasabban kvalifikáltabb munkavállalók lelkiegészség-mutatói szignifikánsabban rosszabbak lettek 42. Az egészségi állapot önbecslése alapján, akik magukat a rossz vagy nagyon rossz kategóriába sorolják, szignifikánsan nagyobb funkciócsökkenést értek el mentális állapotukban.…”