Mental health of physics and astronomy graduate students: Results from a national study

We share key results of the first national-scale survey study of physics and astronomy (P/A) graduate students' mental health (MH). Across eight US graduate programs (N~250), we measure depression, anxiety, impostor phenomenon, and loneliness using validated inventories. Our P/A graduate student respondents reported a much greater prevalence of these MH struggles than samples of the general population. Female and non-binary P/A graduate students reported significantly more anxiety, depression, and impostor phenomenon than their male peers, while international students reported significantly more loneliness than their domestic peers. We also assess graduate students' perception of several program features and environmental variables, including advisor support, work-life balance, and sense of progress toward future professional goals. We discuss the impacts of these variables on graduate students' MH using regression and structural equation modeling techniques. We discuss implications for graduate students, faculty, and department administrators.