PERSON-ENVIRONMENT MISFIT AND MENTAL DISORDER AMONG PHD STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF MEANINGFUL WORK

Abstract

"In organizational psychology, the authors’ awareness of the concerns about the current academic working conditions and their potential impacts on PhD students’ mental health is increasing. Accordingly, authors have witnessed increased the attention to PhD students’ perception of their fit with the environmental conditions, i.e., organizational policies, co-workers’ and supervisors’ relations and supports, as an antecedent of their PhD experience. In particular, such environmental conditions seem to be related to the high diffusion of state anxiety and depression among PhD students that perceive a certain level of misfit between them and the environment. However, studies suggested that, despite the working conditions, in the presence of positive experience at work, such as meaningful work, individuals are less at risk of developing mental disorders as well as of quitting their job. Indeed, meaningful work construct regards a positive individual phenomenon of experience and perception of meaningfulness at work. Then, it might be a potential experience that might mitigate the experience of negative states at work. The present paper aims to address the current need for knowledge by involving a literature review of the role played by meaningful work in the PhD experience. Then, the paper explores the potential mediational role of meaningful work between the path from P-E misfit and mental disorders’ symptoms and students’ intention to quit. A cross-sectional study has been devised via the use of an online questionnaire with self-report measures on P-E misfit, meaningful work, mental health disorders symptoms, and intention to quit. In a sample of N = 251 Italian PhD students, the results showed a prevalence of three mental health disorders symptoms, i.e., depression, anxiety and hostility, among doctorate students, which resulted to be positively related to the levels of P-E misfit. Then, the results showed a negative mediating role of meaningful work on the paths from P-E misfit to (a) mental disorders and (b) intention to quit. Finally, the paper advances further steps for research as well as for practical implications for supporting PhD students."