Purpose: The present study develops, conceptualizes and validates a scale based on the transactional stress theory to assess the perceived challenge and hindrance demands of doctoral programs that impact doctoral students' psychological well-being. Design/methodology/approach: This research employs an exploratory-mixed methodology comprising five…

Recent research into the mental health of PhD candidates suggests that their high levels of stress could be caused in part or exacerbated by aspects of the doctoral education environment. However, the particulars of this environment have not been explored in consistent enough ways to provide a clear way forward for universities to respond to this…

The quality of PhD training can be conceived of as being dependent on the learning environment provided by the scholarly community. Our paper explores PhD students' ideas about themselves as a part of this community, and their perceptions of their learning environment in the context of the University of Helsinki, Finland. The study is a part of a…

This study was designed to obtain the judgment of doctoral students about the quality and character of their experiences in graduate study, and to identify stress stages in the degree process. An analysis was made of over 2,300 responses to a survey questionnaire and 100 interviews with doctoral students at the University of California at…

A study is reported that sought to determine the prevalence and incidence of stress-associated illnesses and to identify possible sources of stress among students enrolled in a combined medical-doctoral (M.D.-Ph.D.) program. The information obtained from M.D.-Ph.D. students was compared with the responses of M.D. students and Ph.D. students.…