Mental health and quality of life in Brazilian master’s and doctoral students: a cross-sectional study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22491/2357-9730.155261Keywords:
Depression, Anxiety, Burnout professional, StudentsAbstract
Introduction: While academic environments are widely recognized as high-stress settings, there is still a scarcity of research investigating this issue. Objective: To determine the rates of depressive, anxiety, and burnout symptoms alongside quality of life in a sample of postgraduate students, and to investigate the factors associated with these outcomes. Methods: A cross-sectional web survey was conducted with 927 Master´s and Doctoral students across Brazil. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7_, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and European Health Interview Surveys Quality of Life (EUROhis-QOL-8) were used in this study. Results: Moderate-to-severe anxiety and depressive symptoms were reported by (mean ) and (mean ) of respondents, while were at imminent risk of burnout. Overall quality of life was low (mean: ), and rated their mental health as poor or very poor. Risk factors included younger age and a history of psychiatric illness, both of which predicted higher symptom severity and lower quality of life. Conclusion: Our findings underscore a significant mental health crisis among Brazilian postgraduate students, emphasizing the urgent need for institutional policies aimed at promoting mental health support and enhancing overall student well-being.
Objective: To determine the rates of depressive, anxiety, and burnout symptoms alongside quality of life in a sample of postgraduate students, and to investigate the factors associated with these outcomes.
Methods: A cross-sectional web survey was conducted with 927 Master´s and Doctoral students across Brazil. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7_, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and European Health Interview Surveys Quality of Life (EUROhis-QOL-8) were used in this study.
Results: Moderate-to-severe anxiety and depressive symptoms were reported by (mean ) and (mean ) of respondents, while were at imminent risk of burnout. Overall quality of life was low (mean: ), and rated their mental health as poor or very poor. Risk factors included younger age and a history of psychiatric illness, both of which predicted higher symptom severity and lower quality of life.
Conclusion: Our findings underscore a significant mental health crisis among Brazilian postgraduate students, emphasizing the urgent need for institutional policies aimed at promoting mental health support and enhancing overall student well-being.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Adriane Rosa, Danielly Cruz da Silva, Tainá Schons, Charles Ferreira, Paola Rampelotto Ziani, Rosane Gomez
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