PhD Studies Hurt Mental Health, But Less than Previously Feared

Matti Keloharju, Samuli Knüpfer, Dagmar Müller and Joacim Tåg
Additional contact information
Matti Keloharju: Aalto University, Postal: and Research Institute of Industrial Economics, Box 55665, SE-102 15 Stockholm, Sweden, https://www.ifn.se/en/researchers/affiliated-researchers/matti-keloharju/
Samuli Knüpfer: Aalto U(niversity School of Business, Postal: and Research Institute of Industrial Economics, Box 55665, SE-102 15 Stockholm, Sweden, https://www.ifn.se/en/researchers/affiliated-researchers/samuli-knupfer/
Dagmar Müller: Swedish Public Employment Service

No 1435, Working Paper Series from Research Institute of Industrial Economics

Abstract: We study the mental health of PhD students in Sweden using comprehensive administrative data on prescriptions, specialist care visits, hospitalizations, and causes of death. We find that about 7% (5%) of PhD students receive medication or diagnosis for depression (anxiety) in a given year. These prevalence rates are less than one-third of the earlier reported survey-based estimates, and even after adjusting for difference in methodology, 43% (72%) of the rates in the literature. Nevertheless, PhD students still fare worse than their peers not pursuing graduate studies. Our difference-in-differences research design attributes all of this health disadvantage to the time in the PhD program. This deterioration suggests doctoral studies causally affect mental health.

Keywords: PhD Studies; Mental Health; Depression; Anxiety; Suicide (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A23 I10 I23 I29 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2022-08-12, Revised 2024-06-29
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-eur and nep-hea
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Journal Article: PhD studies hurt mental health, but less than previously feared (2024)
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