Mental Health and the PhD: Insights and Implications for Political Science

ABSTRACT There is a severe mental health crisis among graduate students in political science. We present findings from an original survey on the mental health of political science PhD students at seven US universities. Our results are concerning: 15.8% expressed thoughts of suicide in the two weeks prior to taking the survey. About 30% of respondents met the criteria for depression and only a third of those were receiving treatment. Approximately 32% met the criteria for anxiety and fewer than half were receiving treatment. We also found that students with poorer mental health were more isolated, had fewer friends in their department and fewer people to turn to for help, and were more likely to contemplate dropping out of their program. Our study raises important questions about the experiences of graduate students during the PhD program and serves as an urgent call to action to address the well-being of our colleagues.

Disrupted PGR-B and ESR1 signaling underlies defective decidualization linked to severe preeclampsia

Background:Decidualization of the uterine mucosa drives the maternal adaptation to invasion by the placenta. Appropriate depth of placental invasion is needed to support a healthy pregnancy; shallow invasion is associated with the development of severe preeclampsia (sPE). Maternal contribution to sPE through failed decidualization is an important determinant of placental phenotype. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the in vivo defect linking decidualization to sPE is unknown.Methods:Global RNA sequencing was applied to obtain the transcriptomic profile of endometrial biopsies collected from nonpregnant women who suffer sPE in a previous pregnancy and women who did not develop this condition. Samples were randomized in two cohorts, the training and the test set, to identify the fingerprinting encoding defective decidualization in sPE and its subsequent validation. Gene Ontology enrichment and an interaction network were performed to deepen in pathways impaired by genetic dysregulation in sPE. Finally, the main modulators of decidualization, estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and progesterone receptor B (PGR-B), were assessed at the level of gene expression and protein abundance.Results:Here, we discover the footprint encoding this decidualization defect comprising 120 genes—using global gene expression profiling in decidua from women who developed sPE in a previous pregnancy. This signature allowed us to effectively segregate samples into sPE and control groups. ESR1 and PGR were highly interconnected with the dynamic network of the defective decidualization fingerprint. ESR1 and PGR-B gene expression and protein abundance were remarkably disrupted in sPE.Conclusions:Thus, the transcriptomic signature of impaired decidualization implicates dysregulated hormonal signaling in the decidual endometria in women who developed sPE. These findings reveal a potential footprint that could be leveraged for a preconception or early prenatal screening of sPE risk, thus improving prevention and early treatments.Funding:This work has been supported by the grant PI19/01659 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE) from the Spanish Carlos III Institute awarded to TGG. NCM was supported by the PhD program FDGENT/2019/008 from the Spanish Generalitat Valenciana. IMB was supported by the PhD program PRE2019-090770 and funding was provided by the grant RTI2018-094946-B-100 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation with CS as principal investigator. This research was funded partially by Igenomix S.L.

Back to the Source: Moving Upstream in the Curricular Rivers of Coloniality

This article shares choices made as part of an introductory decoloniality curriculum in a non-clinical community psychology M.A./PhD program where the authors are faculty members. We focus on the basics of decoloniality and decolonial pedagogies in two first-year foundational psychology courses: one course on implications of decoloniality for studying differing psychological paradigms, ontologies, and epistemologies, particularly relational ontologies that might reframe community environments, and another course on implications of decoloniality for post-humanist and indigenous qualitative research methodologies. We present currently emerging forms of theory, content, pedagogy, dialogue, artivism, and methodology in process in our work, as well as responses from students and our own reflections.

A Study of PhD Courses and Curricula Across Schools of Social Work

Objectives This study explored courses offered by social work PhD programs, the variation in these courses by type of university, and how the courses compare to the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE) Quality Guidelines. Study Methods Course curriculums of 84 GADE-affiliated social work PhD programs were double-blind coded. PhD directors verified codes and answered a brief survey. Findings A total of 1146 courses were coded into 28 categories. An average of six research and statistics courses were offered per program. Few programs offered courses in measurement, intervention research, meta-analysis, program evaluation, or grant writing. Most programs indicated that diversity, equity, and inclusion was infused in the curriculum. Less than half (41%) of PhD program directors indicated that GADE Quality Guidelines were influential. Conclusions PhD programs are offering more research and statistics courses than in the past, but GADE Quality Guidelines are not consistently followed.

The paradox of overcontrol, perfectionism and self-criticism: A cases series on gifted students

The objective of this pilot-study is to report the preliminary results of a specifically designed therapy for gifted students enrolled in highly competitive PhD programs. We outlined a case series design (n=7), with initial, final, and 1-month follow-up assessments.Inclusion criteria were: to be a student in an international PhD program; to be defined as a gifted student (at least one WAIS-IV Index =130); to be diagnosed with a personality disorder in accordance with DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders. Primary outcomes were general symptomatology, social disconnection, and personality disorder severity.Secondary outcomes were the presumed therapeutic targets: overcontrol, perfectionism, and self-criticism. The intervention was a 6-month third wave cognitive behavioral therapy aimed at promoting adaptive self-soothing and metacognitive strategies. At the end of the intervention all the participants showed reliable changes in both primary and secondary outcomes.

PhD courses and the intersectoral experience: a comprehensive survey

It has been found that most PhD graduates (>85%) do not achieve a long-term academic career and thus there is a growing need to re-imagine PhD education that incentivizes doctoral students to engage with research consumers, not only within their discipline, but also, across other disciplines and sectors to have real social impact for an improved society. The aim of this work is to identify intersectoral/interdisciplinary courses that are considered to broaden student career outside and inside academia. For this purpose, a survey was designed to identify modules which lead to the improvement of students' skills while an analysis of their attributes was also performed. Two target groups have been considered: (a) young researchers and (b) program directors each of which can provide different information regarding the courses of interest. 52 students and 11 directors from 5 European Universities, participated in the study. An absence of such courses in the standard PhD program was observed, while any intersectoral/interdisciplinary activities were conducted outside the PhD program, and organized by collaboration of academia and other organizations. The survey findings reveal the need to restructure the PhD programs.