Mental Health and Positive Psychological Functioning of Pakistani Ph.D. Scholars

Doctoral programs demand rigorous intellectual commitment and an unrelenting pursuit of knowledge, often at the cost of scholars’ mental health. Mental health and Positive Psychological Functioning (PPF) are crucial components of the overall well-being of individuals. Pakistani Ph.D. scholars, like any other students, face a range of challenges and stressors during their academic journey. The present study evaluated the current mental health and PPF of Pakistani scholars by utilizing a cross-sectional research design. In order to carry out this investigation, 240 participants (male = 111 & female = 129) were selected using a snowball sampling technique. To assess the mental health and PPF of study participants, DASS-21 and the Positive Psychological Functioning Scale (PPFS) were used to collect data. Results of two-way ANOVA illustrated that there is a significant main effect of PPFS and DASS-21 across gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and employment status. Further results of two-way and three-way mixed factorial ANCOVA revealed significant main effect of PPFS with (F(2,147) = [29.137], p < .001) , and DASS-21 (Depression (F(2,147) = [17.736], p < .001) , Anxiety (F(2,147) = [7.578], p = .001) , and stress (F(2,147) = [10.066], p < .001) across Social sciences, Computer science and Engineering majors. The study concludes that mental health and PPF are important areas to consider when supporting the well-being of Pakistani PhD students.