4 ms·

Depression afflicts almost half of STEM graduate students at UC Berkeley (2015)

23 points by simonster 10y ago

grimmm_reaper 10y ago
Maybe everyone thinks they are depressed but they are actually not? That alone can explain the 50% number..
- simonster 10y ago
  They used a clinical depression survey (CES-D). The questions were: 1. I was bothered by things that usually don't bother me. 2. I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing. 3. I felt depressed. 4. I felt that everything I did was an effort. 5. I felt hopeful about the future. (REVERSED) 6. I felt fearful. 7. My sleep was restless. 8. I was happy. (REVERSED) 9. I felt lonely. 10. I could not "get going." So yes, it seems like responses to 2, 4, 5, and 10 could have something to do with the nature of the work in addition to students' mental state. But it is also possible that feeling that way about one's work takes a toll on one's mental health. I don't think it's appropriate to conclude anything based on this survey, but it certainly seems to call for further investigation.
- pkaye 10y ago
  Did they have a control group of non-STEM majors in the study? Couldn't see it in their report form a quick glance.
- tdb7893 10y ago
  Anecdotally it sounds very stressful and even if it turns out that 50% of people think they have depression that would also be a sign of a huge problem
ubernostrum 10y ago
The failure of mental health care in the US is a political topic. Get it off HN.
- Hydraulix989 10y ago
  I can't possibly call someone a decent person who downplays peoples' personal health as mere politics.
  - adrienne 10y ago
    The fact that you think there is any such thing as "mere" politics is exactly the problem. ...i'm sure i'm going to have negative karma by the end of this week, but oh well.
    - grzm 10y ago
      Just a heads-up, commenting on down voting is generally considered bad form (and called out specifically in the guidelines https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html). It's not unusual to be down-voted just for making such comments. As I understand it, get enough negative karma and you're effectively banned.
      - adrienne 10y ago
        Yeah, i wasn't saying that i expect to get downvoted for that specific comment, but i take your point that that's how it came across. That's what i understand too, about karma. shrug The HN community has made abundantly clear, over and over, that people like me aren't actually welcome here.
        Hydraulix989 10y ago
        > The HN community has made abundantly clear, over and over, that people like me aren't actually welcome here. Hm, I'm not sure of the specifics, but wow, this got real pretty quickly.
        ionised 10y ago
        People like you?
      - 10y ago
CalChris 10y ago
Even upper div engineering was insane. I had stress related high blood pressure, cholesterol. Tang reduced my course load but the College of Engineering undergraduate dean was having none of it. I had recurring nightmares for years afterwards, always the same thing. I hadn't finished something. You have to graduate in 8 semesters. Period. No complaints.
jejejd 10y ago
:( same

23 points by simonster 10y ago

grimmm_reaper 10y ago

Maybe everyone thinks they are depressed but they are actually not? That alone can explain the 50% number..

simonster 10y ago
They used a clinical depression survey (CES-D). The questions were: 1. I was bothered by things that usually don't bother me. 2. I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing. 3. I felt depressed. 4. I felt that everything I did was an effort. 5. I felt hopeful about the future. (REVERSED) 6. I felt fearful. 7. My sleep was restless. 8. I was happy. (REVERSED) 9. I felt lonely. 10. I could not "get going." So yes, it seems like responses to 2, 4, 5, and 10 could have something to do with the nature of the work in addition to students' mental state. But it is also possible that feeling that way about one's work takes a toll on one's mental health. I don't think it's appropriate to conclude anything based on this survey, but it certainly seems to call for further investigation.
pkaye 10y ago
Did they have a control group of non-STEM majors in the study? Couldn't see it in their report form a quick glance.
tdb7893 10y ago
Anecdotally it sounds very stressful and even if it turns out that 50% of people think they have depression that would also be a sign of a huge problem

ubernostrum 10y ago

The failure of mental health care in the US is a political topic. Get it off HN.

Hydraulix989 10y ago
I can't possibly call someone a decent person who downplays peoples' personal health as mere politics.
- adrienne 10y ago
  The fact that you think there is any such thing as "mere" politics is exactly the problem. ...i'm sure i'm going to have negative karma by the end of this week, but oh well.
  - grzm 10y ago
    Just a heads-up, commenting on down voting is generally considered bad form (and called out specifically in the guidelines https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html). It's not unusual to be down-voted just for making such comments. As I understand it, get enough negative karma and you're effectively banned.
    - adrienne 10y ago
      Yeah, i wasn't saying that i expect to get downvoted for that specific comment, but i take your point that that's how it came across. That's what i understand too, about karma. shrug The HN community has made abundantly clear, over and over, that people like me aren't actually welcome here.
      - Hydraulix989 10y ago
        > The HN community has made abundantly clear, over and over, that people like me aren't actually welcome here. Hm, I'm not sure of the specifics, but wow, this got real pretty quickly.
      - ionised 10y ago
        People like you?
    - 10y ago

CalChris 10y ago

Even upper div engineering was insane. I had stress related high blood pressure, cholesterol. Tang reduced my course load but the College of Engineering undergraduate dean was having none of it. I had recurring nightmares for years afterwards, always the same thing. I hadn't finished something. You have to graduate in 8 semesters. Period. No complaints.

jejejd 10y ago

:( same