Cited by 34Doctoral Education Challenges and SolutionsStudent Stress and CopingHealthcare professionals’ stress and burnout

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 57 of the 58 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 1 of the 44 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

The supervisory relationship as a predictor of mental health outcomes in doctoral students in the United Kingdom

Open access

Abstract

Introduction: The process of a doctorate degree has been implicated in the onset and exacerbation of mental health problems among doctoral students. Previous studies have suggested that the student-supervisor relationship may predict emotional wellbeing and mental health outcomes in doctoral students in the UK. However, these studies were conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic and often used unstandardized measures to investigate supervisory styles. Methods: The present study was part of the Better Together project, a wellbeing initiative for doctoral students in the UK. It explored the predictive ability of aspects of the student-supervisor relationship with regards to doctoral students’ mental health outcomes. The sample consisted of 141 students doing a research-based doctorate degree in the UK. The survey included demographic questions and questionnaires assessing supervisory styles, the discrepancy between actual and preferred supervisory relationship, depression, anxiety, and stress. Results: A large proportion of participants fell in the severe and extremely severe categories in the depression, anxiety, and stress sub-scales. Multiple regression analyses indicated that both supervisory styles and discrepancy significantly predicted students’ mental health outcomes. More specifically, higher scores in the uncertain supervisory style, which is characterized by indecisiveness and ambiguity, were linked with higher scores in depression, anxiety, and stress. Discussion: The findings provided new insights concerning the aspects of the student-supervisor relationship that are related to the mental health issues of doctoral students in the UK. They have important implications for future research and supervision practice.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a UK sample of 141 research doctoral students, a large proportion reported severe or extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress. The uncertain supervisory style and the discrepancy between actual and preferred supervisory relationship significantly predicted worse mental health outcomes.

Key findings

  • Severe/extremely severe DASS-21 categories were reported by 22% for depression, 32.6% for anxiety, and 27% for stress.
  • Supervisory styles explained 26% of variance in depression, 12% in anxiety, and 23% in stress; the uncertain style was the only significant predictor: depression β = 5.36, p = 0.011; anxiety β = 5.68, p = 0.004; stress β = 8.57, p < 0.001.
  • The Actual-Preferred Supervisory Relationship Discrepancy Scale predicted depression (β = 0.77, p < 0.001; 19% variance), anxiety (β = 0.32, p = 0.008; 5.2% variance), and stress (β = 0.43, p = 0.002; 6.9% variance).
  • Content analysis found most participants described their actual supervisory relationship positively, but many wanted more friendly/informal, supportive, straightforward, organized, and frequent contact, while some wanted less anxiety-provoking, intimidating, and strict supervision.

Methods

  • Cross-sectional online survey within the Better Together project at UCL; convenience sample of 141 doctoral students doing a research-based degree in the UK, after 187 attempted and 42 were excluded for incomplete data or not meeting inclusion criteria.
  • Measures included demographic questions, the QSDI for eight supervisory styles, an adapted Actual-Preferred Supervisory Relationship Discrepancy Scale, and the DASS-21; the RSES was also completed but analyzed elsewhere.
  • Six multiple regression analyses tested supervisory styles and discrepancy as predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress; the understanding supervisory style was removed due to multicollinearity, and content analysis was performed on open-ended discrepancy items.

Limitations

  • Stated: the cross-sectional design gives only a snapshot; the sample was relatively small for the UK doctoral population and over-represented females, limiting generalizability; supervisory styles were highly intercorrelated, which may have obscured unique contributions such as leadership.
  • Stated: the over-representation of females may have influenced the high observed levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, since mental health problems are more prevalent in females in the UK.
  • Evident from the text: recruitment via student lists, word-of-mouth, and supervisor-forwarded emails, plus reliance on self-report questionnaires, may introduce selection and response biases; the study cannot establish causality.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1437819

Cites

57 of 57 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Figures

Figure 1 The interpersonal model of supervision. Reproduced with permission of Springer Nature from “A Model for The Supervisor-Doctoral Student Relationship,” by Mainhard et al. (2009), p. 363.
Figure 1 The interpersonal model of supervision. Reproduced with permission of Springer Nature from “A Model for The Supervisor-Doctoral Student Relationship,” by Mainhard et al. (2009), p. 363.CC BY · PubMed Central

Verification

Claims the paper makes

30 Own result · 20 Not checked yet · 8 No full text of the sources · 7 Own method · 5 Sources not found · 5 Own interpretation · 4 No basis given · 1 Supported · 1 Check pending

Verify all 25 references — free account

Show all 41 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 28
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 26
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
40 of 40
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The adapted Actual-Preferred Supervisory Relationship Discrepancy Scale validly measures the discrepancy between actual and preferred supervisory relationship.

    “For the purposes of this study, we created the Actual-Preferred Supervisory Relationship Discrepancy Scale, in which participants had to complete the sentence “My relationship with my PhD supervisor is… but I would like it to be…” and rate it on a scale from 1 to 5.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The sample of 141 doctoral students is representative of UK doctoral students.

    “The participants were a convenience sample of doctoral students doing a research-based degree in a UK university.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The QSDI's eight supervisory styles are sufficiently distinct to be used as separate predictors despite intercorrelation.

    “It is important to note that the intercorrelation between the eight types of behavior could create ambiguity when trying to identify the effects of different supervisory styles on doctoral students as it does not fully distinguish between different types of supervision.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The cross-sectional regression models can be interpreted as predictive ability of the supervisory relationship on mental health outcomes.

    “The present study investigated the predictive ability of aspects of the student-supervisor relationship with regards to doctoral students’ mental health outcomes, specifically depression, anxiety, and stress.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The supervisory relationship variables (supervisory styles and actual-preferred discrepancy) influence doctoral students' mental health, rather than mental health influencing perceptions of the supervisory relationship.

    “This is a novel finding which could potentially indicate how the supervisory relationship might influence the mental health issues of doctoral students, but also how IU could be shaping the perception of the supervisory relationship.”
    “Even though it is known that individual, interpersonal, and institutional factors all play a role in the experience and mental health of doctoral students, the current findings provide a clearer understanding that an uncertain supervisory style and a discrepancy between actual and preferred supervisory relationship seem to be most related to students’ negative emotional experiences.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The Actual-Preferred Supervisory Discrepancy Scale validly measures the discrepancy between actual and preferred supervisory relationships.

    “the Actual-Preferred Supervisory Discrepancy Scale significantly predicted scores on the sub-scales of depression (β = 0.77, p < 0.001), anxiety (β = 0.32, p = 0.008), and stress (β = 0.43, p = 0.002; see Table 5 for coefficients, Table 4 for model outputs).”
    “In order to answer the second research question, three regression models used the Actual-Preferred Supervisory Relationship Discrepancy Scale as a predictor for DASS-21 scores.”
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Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • ConsistentF(7, 126) = 6.42reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(7, 126) = 6.42, p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(7, 126) = 2.52reported p = .019 · recomputed p = .019

    “F(7, 126) = 2.52, p = .019”

  • ConsistentF(7, 126) = 4.23reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(7, 126) = 4.23, p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(1, 133) = 38.84reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(1, 133) = 38.84, p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(1, 132) = 7.22reported p = .008 · recomputed p = .008

    “F(1, 132) = 7.22, p = .008”

  • ConsistentF(1, 133) = 9.87reported p = .002 · recomputed p = .002

    “F(1, 133) = 9.87, p = .002”

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Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

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Citations

Cites

Show all 58 references

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Latona, 2001, Factors associated with completion of research higher degrees, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs., 1, 035
  2. Lovibond, 1995, Manual for the depression anxiety stress scale
  3. Metcalfe, 2018, Exploring wellbeing and mental health and associated support services for postgraduate researchers
  4. Wubbels, 2006, An interpersonal perspective on classroom management in secondary classrooms in the Netherlands, 1161

Cited by

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Metadata

Authors
Mavrogalou-Foti, A. P., Kambouri, M. A., & Çili, S.
Affiliations
University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Kambouri, Maria A.
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Published
2024-10-09
Volume
15
Pages
1437819-1437819
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4403249712
Cited by
34
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 7
FWCI
13.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • University of the Arts London Research Online (University of the Arts London) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
University College London
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
Keywords
doctoral supervision, supervisor-student relationship, doctoral students, mental health, depression, anxiety, stress, supervisory style, emotional well-being

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