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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1416724
This article is part of the Research Topic Health Promotion in the Universities and Other Educational Settings View all 16 articles

Examining the associations between mental health, life balance, workmethod autonomy, and perceived boundary control among postdoctoral fellows

Provisionally accepted
Brian K. Lo Brian K. Lo 1*In Young Park In Young Park 2David Choung David Choung 2Melissa McTernan Melissa McTernan 2Erin Sibley Erin Sibley 2Kirsten K. Davison Kirsten K. Davison 2
  • 1 University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
  • 2 Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    High mental health risks and life imbalance among postdoctoral fellows (postdocs) are persistent concerns in academia. However, little is known about the relationship between these two subjects and whether autonomy at work is linked to life balance among postdocs. Online survey responses from 117 postdocs (59% women; 49% non-Hispanic white) were assessed using multiple linear regression analysis to examine whether the work-method autonomy and perceived boundary control of postdocs were linked to life balance. Additionally, logistic regression analysis was used to examine whether postdocs who reported better life balance had lower risks of reporting mood disorder symptoms. We found that 39%, 27%, and 45% of postdocs reported anxiety, depressive, and anxiety-or-depressive disorder symptoms, respectively. Both work-method autonomy and perceived boundary control were positively associated with life balance (b=0.40, 95% CI=[0.20-0.60]; b=0.50, 95% CI=[0.32-0.67], respectively). Postdocs with greater life balance had decreased odds of reporting mood disorder symptoms (anxiety disorder symptoms: adjusted OR=0.55, 95% CI=[0.37-0.82]; depressive disorder symptoms: adjusted OR=0.31, 95% CI=[0.18-0.55]); anxiety-or-depressive disorder symptoms: adjusted OR=0.42, 95% CI=[0.27-0.65]). Postdocs' mental health appeared to be influenced by life balance, which may be enhanced by providing work-method autonomy and increasing perceived boundary control.

    Keywords: Postdoctoral fellow, Mental Health, Life balance, Work autonomy, Anxiety, depressive disorder symptoms

    Received: 13 Apr 2024; Accepted: 30 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lo, Park, Choung, McTernan, Sibley and Davison. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Brian K. Lo, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.