Discussion

This study sought to examine the relationship between health insurance status and depression, stress, and anxiety in graduate students. The results supported the hypothesis with health insurance having a significant relationship to depression, stress, and anxiety collectively. The results suggested that depression was most strongly associated with the difference between the groups. This result is surprising, as it seemed likely that stress would be most strongly associated given previous research which has found that finances, debts, and other external factors increase the severity of stress (Nelsosn et al., 2001). However, it is possible that this result is reflective of the insidiousness of anxiety and depression when not properly treated. Depression is relatively common in graduate students (Garcia-Williams et al., 2004), which may be explained by the strong relationship between stress and depression onset (Vrshek-Schallhorn, 2019). Furthermore, given the learned helplessness and hopeless symptoms of depression (Miller et al., 1977), it is possible that unlike stress which may ebb and flow, it will not abate without treatment. The same may be true of anxiety which was the second strongest factor.

Limitations:

This was a small sample size collected from a single school using convenience sampling. Furthermore, this data was collected amidst a global pandemic and following a national presidential election; therefore, rates of depression, stress, and anxiety may have been elevated due to external circumstances.

Future Research:

Future research should examine health insurance status and mental well-being in a larger sample at multiple universities. Additionally, clinical interventions to improve graduate students’ mental health should be explored.