Selling Plasma to Survive Summer: Narratives of Psychological Distress

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session III
  In Interactive Paper Session: Health Communication Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Graduate students in the United States suffer from transient poverty that imprints their experiences as students and academic laborers. A sample of 481 graduate students in a large Midwestern University responded to a survey to assess the financial stress, the financial impact, and the psychological distress (K6) levels among this population. Findings from this study revealed that one in every five graduate students suffered from severe mental disorder, and another 23% of graduate students suffered from mild mental disorders. Males were significantly more susceptible to suffer from psychological distress than females. American citizens significantly felt a more negative financial impact than non-Americans, and Latinos also significantly felt worse off than other ethnicities. Finally, Doctoral students were more financially stressed than Masters students. This study helps shed the light on the intersections of poverty and psychological wellbeing and proposes ways to lessen the financial burden on the graduate body.

Authors

• Nadine A. Yehya, American U of Beirut

• Mohan Jyoti Dutta, National U of Singapore