Mental health and Information Science graduate students’ challenges in Brazil

Abstract

This paper aims to carry out a diagnosis of the mental health of ongoing (non-egress) students from the postgraduate programs in Information Science in Brazil, understanding the impact of CAPES regulations in this reality. The study is quali-quantitative, descriptive and exploratory. The methodology is based on a documentary research and case study. The Documentary Research was applied in the analysis of the National Postgraduate Plan 2011-2020. In the Case Study, a questionnaire was sent to graduate programs and groups of students exposed on social networks. It was observed that students have feelings and behaviors of anxiety, stress, and depression. The results showed that most of the students enrolled in the programs which participated in this research make use of psychiatric drugs. Students would like to focus on research in order to deepen the results, however, due to deadlines and the high need for scientific production, this reality is not always possible, which makes students frustrated. It concludes that the graduate program structure can contribute to the development of mental illnesses, since it is based on competition between masters and doctoral students. This competition generates insecurities, nervousness and, as a consequence, students focus on quantity rather than quality of scientific research. Because of that, the context of scientific research should be based on a collaborative culture to encourage students to construct knowledge and networks together.