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HONOLULU — A new study by scientists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa finds that the severity of anxiety and depression in the planetary science community is higher than the general U.S. population.
A study published in the journal Nature Astronomy found that graduate students and postdoctoral researchers were more susceptible to the condition than those at other times in their careers.
Planetary science is the branch of astronomy that focuses on the study of planets and their systems.
“I read many articles about anxiety and depression in academia, and as a lover of both planetary science and psychology, I felt the need to do something because there are so many people suffering,” David Tran said in a news release.
Tran was a research assistant at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology when she conducted the study in 2022. She is currently a graduate student in the master’s program in counseling psychology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
For the study, Tran and co-authors from the University of Hawaii at Manoa Shidler College of Business, Hawaii Pacific University, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, and the U.S. Geological Survey surveyed 300 members of the planetary science community.
Comparing groups within planetary science fields, the study authors found symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress were more prevalent among marginalized groups, including women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Among these groups, LGBTQ+ respondents were more likely to be unsure about staying in the field.
“Some of my colleagues have left science because the academic workplace had a negative impact on their health,” Tran says, “which is a great shame because science benefits from individuals who are passionate about research and who can contribute so much to the field.”
Next, Tran will host a psychoeducational workshop to improve mental health in planetary science, which he hopes will serve as a model for improving mental health across academic disciplines.
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