Bødker, Henrik

Hanitzsch, Thomas

Markiewitz, Antonia

English

Open Access LMU

B U R N I N G  ( O U T )F O R  A C A D E M I AM e n t a l  H e a l t h  a m o n g  m e d i a  a n dc o m m u n i c a t i o n  s c h o l a r s2023Thomas HanitzschAntonia MarkiewitzHenrik BødkerD I S C L A I M E RThis information is provided for generaleducational and information purposes only. Thescales used in this study (see Appendix) are notintended for (clinical) diagnostics. Any diagnosisand/or treatment decisions in regard to anindividual patient should be made based onprofessional investigations and opinions in thecontext of the clinical circumstances of thepatient.A C K N O W L E D G M E N TWe want to thank the scholarly associationsAEJMC, ALAIC, ECREA, and IAMCR for their helpand support in promoting the study anddistributing the survey link to their members.C I T A T I O NHanitzsch, T., Markiewitz, A., & Bødker, H. (2023).Burning (Out) for Academia: Mental Health amongMedia and Communication Scholars. Munich: LMUMunich. DOI: 10.5282/ubm/epub.1035832023ABOUT THE PROJECT //M E N T A L  H E A L T H  I NA C A D E M I AStudies consistently point to a significantly higherprevalence of mental health issues amongacademics compared to most other workingpopulations. With a prevalence of about 37%,academics are found among the occupationalgroups with the highest levels of common mentaldisorders (Guthrie et al., 2017; Padilla &Thompson, 2016). O U R  P R O J E C T :M E N T A L  H E A L T H  I N  M E D I A&  C O M M U N I C A T I O NS C H O L A R SDespite a growing body of research on the mentalhealth of academics in general, relatively little isknown about the situation within the field ofmedia and communication studies in particular.This study therefore aimed to (1) gauge the scaleof the problem in our discipline, (2) identifystructural conditions that might produce greatervulnerability among individuals, and (3) point topotential ways of improving the situation.0 32023FINDINGS //S E L F - R A T E D  M E N T A LH E A L T H  &  L I F E T I M EP R E V A L E N C EWhen asked about their general mental health, 26% of thesurveyed media and communication scholars reported verygood or excellent mental health. This is less than half of the67% found in the Canadian Community Health Survey, whichused the same question (Statistics Canada, 2020).About 62% of the respondents reported that they hadexperienced mental health problems at some point in theirlives (n = 999). This number is substantively higher than thegeneral population’s lifetime prevalence (29%; Steel et al.,2014). 0 4 Only one quarterreported verygood or excellentmental health.Mental health is best among late-career and worst inearly-careerscholars.Lifetimeprevalence ishighest amongearly-careerresearchers.(n = 1028)2023FINDINGS //P S Y C H O L O G I C A L  D I S T R E S SAbout 39% of our respondents were classified as likelysuffering from moderate or severe mental disorders based onthe K-10 scoring system to measure psychological distress(Kessler et al., 2002). This number is substantially higherthan similar estimates for the general working population(i.e., 23% in the US, Daly, 2022; 15% globally, WHO, 2022).Half of the respondents reported that psychological distresswas higher than before the pandemic, while 17% indicated ithad dropped.0 5Four out of tenlikely suffer frommoderate orsevere mentaldisorder. Prevalence ofsignificantpsychologicaldistress is almostthree times ashigh as the globalestimate.Psychologicaldistress is highest among early-careerresearchers.(n = 1026)2023FINDINGS //D E P R E S S I O N  &  A N X I E T YAbout 35% of the surveyed media and communicationresearchers were found to experience moderate to severesymptoms of depression based on the PHQ-8 classification(Kroenke et al., 2009). 16% showed symptoms ofmoderately severe or severe depression. Notably, WHO(2022) estimates this number to be 5% in the generalpopulation.Likewise, 33% of our respondents reported moderate tosevere symptoms of anxiety according to the GAD-7 scale(Spitzer et al., 2006). About 13% reported symptoms ofsevere anxiety. WHO (2022) reports an estimatedprevalence of generalized anxiety for the generalpopulation of about 5%.0 6One thirdreportedmoderate to severesymptoms ofdepression.One out of three showedmoderate to severesymptoms ofanxiety.Depression and anxietysymptoms arestrongest in early-careerresearchers.Symptoms of depression(n = 1027)D I F F E R E N C E S  B E T W E E N  C A R E E R  L E V E L S&  E M P L O Y M E N T  G R O U P SEARLY- AND MID-CAREER SCHOLARS AS WELL AS RESEARCHERS WITH NON-PERMANENT CONTRACTS ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO IMPAIRMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH (ALSO SEE APPENDIX).Across all investigated mental health outcomes, PhD students and other early-career researchers are most deeply affected by poor mental health, followed byscholars at the mid-career level.2023FINDINGS //0 7The same applies to employment conditions. Scholars with non-permanentcontracts are consistently more heavily affected by high psychological distressthan their colleagues in permanent positions.(n = 1027)(n = 1028)2023FINDINGS //A P P R O A C H  T O  W O R K  &W O R K - L I F E  B A L A N C EWhen asked about what it takes to successfully pursue acareer in today's academic world, 77% of the surveyed mediaand communication researchers agreed that working overtimeand during weekends/vacation is a must. More than a third ofthe respondents answered that working harder than mostothers and prioritizing work over other things in life is acondition for academic success.Such a problematic approach to work is underlined by thefact that 73% of the respondents agreed that balancing theirprofessional and private lives is difficult.0 8Three quartersfelt they need towork overtimeand duringweekends.Three in fourfound it difficultto balance theirprofessional andprivate life.72% felt theyhave to workharder than mostothers.(n = 1014-1018)S T R E S S  F A C T O R SOur system conceives researchers as automatedpaper creators.2023FINDINGS //0 9Structural aspects rank highest on the list of factors media and communicationscholars are worried about. Publication pressure and future career prospects are leading the ranking, followed bya culture of constant evaluation, financial well-being, academic reputation, and thepressure to compete with peers.(Question: “Considering the past month, how often have you worried about the following?”)(n = 893-1023)2023FINDINGS //B U R N O U TResults on burnout are equally alarming. Almost 82% of thesurveyed media and communication scholars showed at leastsome risk of burnout. 43% were classified as being at severeor very severe risk of burnout.This is particularly true for both scholars at the early- andmid-career levels. However, researchers at all career levelsare vulnerable to burnout. Numbers are only slightly lowerfor late-career scholars.1 0Four in fiveresearchers  showed somerisk of burnout.Results onburnout weresimilar acrosscareer levels and employmentconditions.Three in sevenwere at severe orvery severe riskof burnout. (n = 1027)E X I T I N G  A C A D E M I AMental health issues and excessive work-related stress can make people leaveacademia. Indeed, 44% of the surveyed media and communication researchersreported they had considered leaving academic work within the next year. Thisnumber was particularly high among early-career scholars (49%) and researchersworking on non-permanent contracts (53%).2023FINDINGS //1 1The scarcity of organizational supportand resources might contribute to thisproblem. Only 13% of our respondentshad access to sufficient mental-health-related services offered by theirorganizations.(Question: “Does your organization offerany services related to mental health?”)Another problem isrelated to social media.Many of the surveyedmedia andcommunicationresearchers feel thatsocial media contentgives them a sense thatother scholars are moresuccessful than they are.(n = 991)(n = 853-938)2023IMPLICATIONS //I think it is a positive development that academicsare paying more attention to mental health issuesand ways to deal effectively with them.W H A T  N O W ?Build up mental health literacy: More research is needed to create knowledge aboutthe scale and quality of mental health issues in the field as well as their causes andconsequences. Building up mental health literacy on the individual andorganizational levels can help break the stigma, promote support for colleagueswith mental health issues, and improve help-seeking behavior.Raise mental health awareness: High levels of work-related stress and emotionalburden are the norm rather than the exception in today’s academic world. Mentalhealth problems are, significantly, a systemic result of our academic workenvironment rather than an individual failure. Community building can helpresearchers share their experiences as well as help working towards recovery andprevention.Reconsider our academic culture: Our academic culture should become part of the solution rather than just part of the problem. Academia’s competitive logicattributes achievement primarily to individual agency, while it tends to ignore thedifferential dispositions of individual researchers and the resulting inequalities inresources one can invest into the academic competition. In this context, a seriousevaluation of our publication culture and the emphasis on "productivity" inquantitative terms is in order.Level-up advocacy: It is exactly here where academic associations and scholars inleadership positions have greater leverage. By using their privileged positions intheir organizations and fields, they should initiate and sustain a conversation aboutmental health and emotional well-being in our working environment.1 22023APPENDIX //S U R V E Y  &  S A M P L EPRE-TESTED: AUGUST 2022DATA COLLECTION: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022QUESTIONNAIRE DISTRIBUTED BY ECREA, IAMCR, AEJMC, AND ALAICCareer stage:  Early-career 47% | Mid-career 27% | Late-career 26%Employment: Full-time permanent 54% | Full-time fixed term 22% | Part-timefixed term 8% | Fellowship/scholarship 9% | Other 7%Position: (Full) Professor 18% | Assoc. Prof./sen. lect./reader 24% | Assist.Professor/lecturer/post-doc 26% | Pre-doc/doctoral student 24% | Other 8%Membership:  ICA 51% | ECREA 39% | IAMCR 28% | AEJMC 26% | ALAIC 4%Gender:  Female 67% | Male 31% | Other 2%Age: Mean 43 years; Median 41 yearsAcademic experience: Mean 13 years; Median 11 yearsn = 1,028 completed questionnairesQ U E S T I O N N A I R EThe questionnaire is available for download viahttps://publishandperish.org/Survey/The survey included questions about mental health as well as a range ofcontextual factors (e.g., perceived stressors, organizational support, jobsatisfaction, social media use, and workplace environment). Questions on mental health were drawn from established and clinicallyvalidated scales, including the K-10 for psychological distress (Kessler et al.,2002), GAD-7 for anxiety (Spitzer et al., 2006), PHQ-8 for depressionsymptoms (Kroenke et al., 2009). Measures of work-life balance and socialsupport built on Syrek et al. (2011) and Hayton et al. (2012). Other scales(e.g., perceived stressors, approach to work, and social media perceptions)were developed by us.2023APPENDIX //R E F E R E N C E SDaly, M. (2022). Prevalence of psychological distress among working-age adults in the UnitedStates, 1999–2018. American Journal of Public Health, 112(7), 1045-1049.https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306828   Guthrie, S., Lichten, C. A., van Belle, J., Ball, S., Knack, A., & Hofman, J. (2018). Understandingmental health in the research environment: A rapid evidence assessment. Rand HealthQuarterly, 7(3). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc5873519/ Hayton, J. C., Carnabuci, G., & Eisenberger, R. (2012). With a little help from my colleagues: Asocial embeddedness approach to perceived organizational support. Journal of OrganizationalBehavior, 33(2), 235–249. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.755 Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L. J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D. K., Normand, S. L., ... & Zaslavsky, A.M. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specificpsychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32(6), 959-976.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291702006074  Kroenke, K., Strine, T. W., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B., Berry, J. T., & Mokdad, A. H. (2009). ThePHQ-8 as a measure of current depression in the general population. Journal of AffectiveDisorders, 114(1-3), 163-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2008.06.026 Padilla, M. A., & Thompson, J. N. (2016). Burning Out Faculty at Doctoral Research Universities.Stress and Health, 32(5), 551–558. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2661  Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessinggeneralized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092-1097.https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092 Statistics Canada (2020). Canadian Community Health Survey, 2019.https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200806/dq200806a-eng.htmSteel, Z., Marnane, C., Iranpour, C., Chey, T., Jackson, J. W., Patel, V., & Silove, D. (2014). Theglobal prevalence of common mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis 1980–2013. International Journal of Epidemiology, 43(2), 476-493. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyu038  Syrek, C., Bauer-Emmel, C., Antoni, C. & Klusemann, J. (2011). Entwicklung und Validierung derTrierer Kurzskala zur Messung von Work-Life Balance (TKS-WLB). Diagnostica, 57(3), 134–145.http://dx.doi.org/10.1026/0012-1924/a000044 World Health Organization (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health forall. Geneva: WHO. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338 

Burning (Out) for Academia

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Burning (Out) for Academia

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