A Quantitative Study of Mental Health Of Graduate & Undergraduate Students In STEM Focusing On Space Sciences And Engineering During The Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Graduate and undergraduate students experience extreme stress, anxiety, and imposter syndrome during their tenure and struggle to cope with the demands of academia. The strain and pressure have only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Excessive stress increases the risk of medical and mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression, which influences academic performance. This paper highlights the importance of mental health via quantitative analysis of graduate and undergraduate students from various STEM majors, focusing on space sciences and engineering, and emphasizes the need to prioritize mental health. The study used an online survey, which employed the DASS-21 scale to assess the severity of perceived depression, anxiety, and stress levels of students in the space sector. A self-developed questionnaire by the researchers was used to check the causes for it and get feedback on the effectiveness of present mental health support systems provided by educational institutions, and the data were analyzed through SPSS software. The final sample consisted of 224 undergraduate and graduate-level students of the space sector - studying space sciences, space engineering, or another science or engineering degree with a project, internship, or work related to the space sector. Students from various parts of the world, such as the USA, India, UK, France, Germany, Mexico, Russia, etc. participated in this study. The results of this study indicated that out of the 224 participants, 25.4% showed severe to extremely severe signs of stress, 31.3% showed severe to extremely severe signs of anxiety and 34.9% showed severe to extremely severe signs of depression. The top 3 concerns for stress were reported as academics, the ongoing pandemic, and jobs and about 46% of the participants rated their university's mental health-related support facilities as poor to very poor. There was a non-significant difference found in the stress, anxiety, and depression levels of students with different gender identities and different geographical locations. The results of this research highlight the importance of mental health & stress management classes for students and suggest that a regular evaluation of students' mental health to monitor their well-being is very crucial to help them cope up with stress and anxiety. This research stresses the need for better facilities for mental well-being by educational institutions. Copyright © 2021 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.