Graduate Student Burnout: Substance Use, Mental Health, and the Moderating Role of Advisor Satisfaction
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Graduate Student Burnout: Substance Use, Mental Health, and the Moderating Role of Advisor Satisfaction Hannah K. Allen 1,2 & Flavius Lilly 3 & Kerry M. Green 2 Kathryn B. Vincent 2 & Amelia M. Arria 2
& Faika Zanjani
4
&
Accepted: 11 November 2020/ # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
Substance use and mental health problems are associated with academic difficulties among high school and undergraduate students, but little research has been conducted on these relationships among graduate students. The sample consisted of 2683 graduate students attending two large, public universities. Standard measures were used to collect data on demographic and program characteristics, mental health, substance use, advisor satisfaction, and burnout (i.e., exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy). Linear regression models evaluated the relationships between each mental health and substance use variable with burnout, as well as the moderating role of advisor satisfaction. Students with a greater number of substance use and mental health problems had higher levels of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. No statistically significant relationships between substance use and burnout were found. High levels of stress, moderate or severe anxiety symptoms, and moderate or severe depressive symptoms were associated with increased levels of burnout. Advisor support moderated the relationships between stress and both cynicism and inefficacy such that the effects of stress on these dimensions of burnout were lower among those who were satisfied with their advisor. Graduate students with mental health problems might be at increased risk for burnout; however, having a supportive advisor might buffer this association. Keywords Mental health . Substance use . Graduate students . Advisor satisfaction . Burnout
* Hannah K. Allen [email protected]
1
Pennsylvania State University College of Health and Human Development, University Park, PA 16802, USA
2
University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD 20742, USA
3
University of Maryland Baltimore Graduate School, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
4
Virginia Commonwealth University College of Health Professions, Richmond, VA 23298, USA
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
An increasing number of young adults are choosing to pursue a graduate degree, and the current estimate of almost three million graduate students in the United States is projected to increase to 3.3 million students by 2026 (McFarland et al., 2017). Only 50 to 75% of graduate students complete their degree (Ali & Kohun, 2006; Baum & Steele, 2017; Lovitts & Nelson, 2000), highlighting the importance of understanding the factors that contribute to the high prevalence of graduate student attrition. Burnout among graduate students has the potential to act as a marker for poor academic achievement and attrition. The concept of burnout has been extensively studied and is typically defined by three dimensions (Maslach & Jackson, 1981; Schaufeli, Martinez, & Pinto, 20
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