Data and sampling
This exploratory cross-sectional study used data from an online survey examining the association between work-related psychosocial stressors and general distress in an international sample of mental health researchers. The study was approved by the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee (ID 1954670). All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations and all participants provided informed consent. The survey was available between 28 October 2019 to 1 March 2020. Participants were recruited via a number of targeted strategies including the email distribution lists of universities and mental health organisations, together with advertisements on the social media platform, Twitter.
Eligible participants included those who were: (1) employed (full time, part time or casually) by a university or research institution (including research assistants, project managers, lecturers, and other academic staff), or; (2) enrolled as a postgraduate student (full-time or part-time Master’s or PhD candidate), and; (3) the person’s main field of research related to mental health (e.g., psychology, psychiatry, social work). The survey was formatted so that participants could not complete the survey more than once. Participation was anonymous and participants were not provided any incentive for taking part in the research.
A total of 357 participants provided consent, of whom 207 completed both the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire III (COPSOQ-III) and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), representing 57.2% of the initial sample. Additional exploratory analyses were conducted on a subsample of 152 participants who answered questions about their history of mental health diagnoses.
Measures
Sociodemographic and work-related characteristics
Sociodemographic variables were assessed in a customised survey developed for the purpose of this study and included age, gender (male/female/other), relationship status (entered as a binary variable indicating the presence or absence of a relationship/spouse), dependents (e.g., children including biological and step-children; entered as binary variable representing the presence or absence of dependents), employment status (casual, full-time, part-time), type of work contract (fixed term/permanent) and clinical (e.g., registered psychologist or doctor) status (yes/no). Participants were classified according to their self-reported career stage. Participants who were employed as a research assistant or project officer were combined into a single category representing support staff. Participants who were enrolled in a Postgraduate degree (PhD or Master’s degree) were categorised as students. Participants who were employed at postdoctoral level or as a lecturer, were categorised as EMCRs. Lastly, senior researchers were participants who were employed as associate professor or above.
Work-related psychosocial stressors
Work-related psychosocial exposures were assessed using the COPSOQ III (12). The COPSOQ III has been tested in over 14 countries worldwide (13). Questionnaire items were obtained from the COPSOQ III middle and core items (14). The questionnaire used in this study comprised 60 items, encompassing 25 psychosocial dimensions and five domains (Table 1). Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale. All items were transformed to a value ranging between zero (minimum value) to 100 (maximum value) with lower scores representing the lowest probable exposure (never/hardly ever) and 100 representing the highest probable exposure (always or to a very large extent). Mean values were summarised according to the five core domains established previously in a previous international validation study that showed acceptable to good reliability with a Cronbach α >0.7 (12). No adaption was made for this study.
General psychological distress
General distress was assessed using the DASS-21, a self-report measures of depression, anxiety and stress. Participants were asked to score each item on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 (did not apply to me at all) to 3 (applied to me very much). Total scores were computed by adding each item and multiplying the score by a factor 2 (15). Total scores for the DASS-21 total range between zero and 120. Cut-off scores of 60 were labelled high distress (15). Good inter-rater reliability, test–retest reliability, and validity of the DASS-21 have been reported previously in both clinical and non-clinical populations (16-18).
Diagnosed psychological disorder
Self-reported history of diagnosed mental-ill health was assessed using two questions: (1) Prior to beginning your research career (including your PhD), have you ever been diagnosed with a psychological disorder? (2) Since beginning your research career (including your PhD), have you ever been diagnosed with a psychological disorder? Participants were provided with the response options ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘I have not been diagnosed, but I probably could have been’.
Suicidal ideation
Suicidal ideation was assessed using three questions adapted from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; 19). Participants were asked: (1) Over the past two weeks, how often have you been bothered by thoughts that you would be better off dead, or thoughts of hurting yourself in some way? Response options were: Not at all, more than half the days, nearly every day and several days. Items were collapsed into a binary variable representing the presence or absence of suicidal ideation for each item. Additionally, participants were asked: (2) Over the past year, have you experienced thoughts that you would be better off dead, or thoughts of hurting yourself in some way? and (3) Since beginning your research career (including during your PhD), have you ever experienced thoughts that you would be better off dead, or thoughts of hurting yourself in some way? Participants responded ‘yes’ or ‘no’, indicating the presence or absence of suicidal ideation.
Analysis
Descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the sociodemographic characteristics of the study participants and their history of mental health diagnoses, suicidal ideation, work-related psychosocial exposures and general distress. Pearson’s chi-square test of independence was used to compare mental health diagnoses and suicidal ideation across career stages (research support staff, postgraduate students, EMCRs, and senior researchers). Group comparisons of work-related psychosocial exposures, DASS-21 general distress and related sub-scores were conducted using ANOVA. Multiple pairwise comparisons were performed using the Tukey post hoc test, stratified by career stage. All analyses were conducted in R v 4.0.3.