Mental Health Resource Utilization Among Graduate Students

• In Event: 037 - Section on Sociology of Mental Health Paper Session. Mental Health Services: Contexts and Consequences

Abstract

The demands of higher education are especially pronounced for graduate students, who occupy marginalized positions within their institutions that are often rife with role strain. Research suggests that institutional sources of stress – including role conflict, role overload, mentor relationships, isolation and funding – shape the mental health experiences of graduate students in distinctive ways. In this study, we examine how master’s and doctoral students respond to these unique mental health concerns by evaluating their awareness and assessment of university-provided mental health resources. Our findings suggest that various factors influence graduate students’ decisions to use formal mental health resources – including awareness, ease of appointment scheduling, cost, student-to-counselor match and stigma. Further, we find that participants perceive university-provided resources as difficult to utilize and, in some cases, insufficiently structured to deliver adequate support. We conclude with the implications of our study as a springboard for assessing the extent to which institutional structures disproportionately provide and/or constrain opportunities for students to seek and effectively use services.

Authors

• Rachel La Touche, Indiana University

• Rebecca K. Grady, Indiana University

• Kristina Fasteson Simacek, Indiana University

• Alyssa A. Powers, Indiana University

• Jamie Lynn Oslawski-Lopez, Indiana University