Umeå universitets logga

I högre utbildning lär sig studenter inte enbart ämnesinnehåll – de socialiseras också in i en akademisk kultur där prestation, perfektion och erkännande spelar centrala roller. Denna kultur formar studenters självbild, känsla av tillhörighet och upplevelse av vad som krävs för att lyckas. I detta bidrag lyfter vi hur akademisk prestationskultur påverkar studenters välbefinnande, särskilt de som uppfattas som högpresterande.

Vi diskuterar hur undervisningspraktiker och återkoppling från lärare bidrar till att forma studenters måttstock för prestation, ofta utan att ge dem utrymme för utveckling av egna kriterier. Detta kan leda till ökad prokrastinering, impostorkänslor (känslan av att vara en bluff som riskerar att avslöjas) och en upplevelse av otillräcklighet. Samtidigt tenderar högre utbildning att uppmärksamma underprestation, medan överprestation ofta belönas utan reflektion kring dess konsekvenser.

Vi ställer frågor om vilken kultur vi i akademin bygger kring studier och framtida yrkesliv:

• Hur påverkar akademins normer studenters upplevelse av inkludering och självständighet?
• Vilka ideal reproduceras i undervisningen – och vilka risker medför dessa för studenters långsiktiga hälsa och ett hållbart arbetsliv?

I en enkätundersökning bland läkarstudenter vid Umeå universitet framkommer att mer än varannan student skattar en förhöjd eller mycket förhöjd risk för utmattning. Kvinnorna i studien skattade en signifikant högre risk för utmattning och samtidigt signifikant lägre psykologisk trygghet, sannolikt ett uttryck för kultur, normer och klimat i utbildningen. Psykologisk trygghet var negativt korrelerat med impostorkänslor (r=0.33, p<0.001). Resultaten understryker vikten av att vidareutveckla sätt att undervisa som bidrar till en psykologiskt trygg utbildningsmiljö genom tydligt kommunicerade förväntningar, uppmuntra studenter att ställa frågor och skapa fokus på lärande och konstruktiv feedback snarare än prestation och bedömning. Att stödja lärare att utveckla dessa undervisningsfärdigheter kan spela en avgörande roll för att förändra ohälsosamma normer och föråldrade ideal. Riktade interventioner kan öka studenternas känsla av psykologisk trygghet och minska förekomsten av impostorkänslor, stress och utmattning. 

Vi argumenterar alltså för att lärare aktivt bör motverka en kultur av perfektionism, och att det är särskilt viktigt inom professionsutbildningar som leder till ett arbetsliv med höga krav och stort ansvar. Vi avslutar med att konkret diskutera hur vi kan förbereda studenter för ett hållbart arbetsliv genom:

• undervisning i egenvårdsfärdigheter
• föregå med gott exempel genom att skapa socialt trygg arbetsmiljö för våra studenter
• interventioner på individ-, grupp- och organisationsnivå som inte pekar ut individen som svag

Slutsats:För att främja hållbart lärande och välbefinnande behöver vi uppmärksamma även den som presterar – och reflektera över vilken kultur vi tillsammans skapar i högre utbildning.

Introduction: Psychological distress is of concern among university students worldwide, more so than in a comparable working population. The impostor phenomenon (IP) describes feelings of inadequacy often experienced by individuals struggling to internalize success despite evidence to the contrary. IP is prevalent among university students and has been identified as a significant factor in understanding psychological distress within this population. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of IP and its association with perceived stress and anxiety in dental, law, medical, nursing and psychology university students.

Methods: A web-survey consisting of the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2), and sociodemographic questions were completed by 968 university students registered at a Swedish university during 2022 and 2023. The prevalence of IP, perceived stress, and anxiety was calculated. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression were used to examine the relationship between the variables.

Results: 64.0% of the participants scored above the cut off value for experiencing IP (CIPS score ≥62). According to cut-off levels developed to categorize the intensity of IP experiences 8.4% of participants had low experiences of IP, 26.0% moderate, 42.6% frequent, and 23.0% intense experiences of IP. Of all participants, 91.6% had at least moderate experiences of IP and 65.6% had frequent to intense experiences of IP. Women scored significantly higher on CIPS than men. In contrast, neither attending semester nor age group significantly impacted CIPS scores. Finally, there was a moderate correlation between the levels of perceived stress and anxiety, respectively, and the IP scores.

Conclusion: This study suggests that the majority of dental, medical, nursing, psychology and law students experience severe IP. Moreover, this study provides valuable insights into the association of IP with perceived stress and anxiety. The results underscore the significance of exploring IP and its link to psychological distress, suggesting that interventions aimed at diminishing IP may play a crucial role in enhancing the well-being of university students.

The present study evaluated the dimensionality, measurement invariance, and nomological network of the Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (NSFS) in a sample of Swedish workers. Using confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory structural equation modeling, and bifactor modeling, 30 different measurement models were evaluated cross-sectionally (n = 2123) and longitudinally (n = 1506). Measurement invariance was tested across gender and time. The nomological network of the NSFS was examined through its relations with life satisfaction and cognitive weariness. The findings supported a first-order six-factor ESEM model and measurement invariance of the Swedish version of the NSFS. Need satisfaction was positively related to life satisfaction and unrelated to cognitive weariness. Need frustration was negatively related to life satisfaction and positively related to cognitive weariness. The present study supported a six-factor structure of the Swedish NSFS, which appears suitable for assessing changes over time and gender differences in ratings.

The transition from university to working life appears a critical period impacting human service workers' long-term health. More research is needed on how psychological factors affect the risk. We aimed to investigate how subgroups, based on self-efficacy, psychological flexibility, and basic psychological needs satisfaction ratings, differed on self-rated health, wellbeing, and intention to leave. A postal survey was sent to 1,077 recently graduated psychologists in Sweden (≤3 years from graduation), response rate 57.5%, and final sample 532 (75% women and 23% men). A hierarchical cluster analysis resulted in a satisfactory eight-cluster solution. We identified two at-risk subgroups, displaying the lowest scores on health and wellbeing, and one potential low-risk subgroup with the highest ratings on said variables. The "Low risk?" group rated high on all three psychological constructs, a positive transition to working life, a work environment where resources balanced relatively high emotional demands, good health, and wellbeing. Almost the complete opposite ratings characterized the potential risk groups. "Quitting?" scored significantly higher than "Getting sick?" on self-efficacy and psychological flexibility as well as actively seeking new employment and reporting daily thoughts on leaving the profession. We suggest that a combination of low self-efficacy and psychological flexibility could increase the risk of individuals staying despite suboptimal working conditions. With combined higher self-efficacy and psychological flexibility, individuals in similar circumstances appear more inclined to quit. We conclude that the ways recently graduated psychologists rate their self-efficacy, psychological flexibility, and basic needs satisfaction appear to be reflected in their self-rated health and wellbeing.

We aimed to explore how individuals living with Chemical Intolerance (CI) describe the onset and progression of CI, and how they live and cope with CI. The participants were recruited via Swedish websites hosted by CI support groups. A postal survey, including a Life history calender, was sent to potential participants. Eleven respondents fitted the consensus-based criteria for CI while not reporting comorbidity. A narrative analysis of their written replies resulted in five prototypical stories based on similarities in the onset and course of CI. All five stories contain descriptions of alienation from society and insufficient social support. Differences in participants’ perceptions of the symptom onset – with regard to suddenness, the point in life and the perceived cause of symptoms – partly corresponded to etiological theories of CI related to stress or inflammation. Further differences between the prototype stories mainly concern the possible effects on health and well-being related to social support and coping. Given these differences, we recommend that medical professionals and others apply a holistic, context-sensitive approach before discouraging or promoting a specific coping strategy in relation to CI.

Rationale: The overall objectives of this research were to study the relationships between the transfer from higher education to working life for psychologists and social workers. We were interested in early career experiences of emotional demands, ability to influence work, and professional isolation. Finally, we expected psychological flexibility to be an important buffer in the performance of human services work and therefore investigated its potential moderating effect.

Method: A postal survey was sent to 5213 psychologists and social workers in Sweden who had graduated within three years of the spring of 2017. There were 2514 respondents, and after exclusion criteria, a final sample consisted of 2224 participants (642 psychologists; 1582 social workers). The gender distribution shows that substantially fewer men participated.

Results: The results of hierarchical multiple regressions with emotional exhaustion and physical fatigue and cognitive weariness as outcome variables explained 34.5% and 35% respectively. Significant main effects were found for emotional demands, influence, professional isolation and work-related psychological flexibility (-.15 (p<.001) for emotional exhaustion and physical fatigue respective -.27 (p<.001) for cognitive weariness); there was no significant effect for age and profession or any interaction terms.

In a cluster analysis derived from perceived influence, professional isolation, and most recent transition, work-related psychological flexibility is one of the constructs which could distinguish between the different clusters.

Implications: Our preliminary results show that work-related psychological flexibility affects emotional exhaustion and physical fatigue and cognitive weariness. By increasing psychological flexibility, we can decrease emotional exhaustion, and in turn buffer against work-related stress.

Both social workers and psychologists are exposed to emotionally demanding situations in their work life – even from early on. The focus of this paper falls on social workers who start their first position after their studies, and psychologists who start their first position after their one year of practical training, following completion of their studies. Early on in a new career would typically be when a new employee experiences the least ability to influence their work situation – for example whom they work with and what kinds of tasks they work on. Also, this may also very likely be the time such an employee is vulnerable if professionally isolated, at time when crucial skills and competences are formed – One is typically employed for one’s unique skills, but works with other professionals, with different skills sets. Lastly, how successfully one perceives oneself to have transitioned from academic to professional life may be an influencing factor.

A postal survey was sent to 5213 (respondents=2514, not target group=103, response rate 49%) psychologists and social workers in Sweden who had graduated within three years of the spring of 2017. In the analysis, graduated psychology students who had not yet reached independent registration as psychologist were excluded (Final sample=2224: 642 psychologists; 1582 social workers)

The central hypothesis was that emotional demands, perceived influence at work, and experienced isolation at work may contribute to burnout-related symptoms (as indicated by the dimensions of cognitive weariness and physical fatigue) among psychologists and social workers in the beginning of their careers. We set out to investigate a regression model where work-related variables relates to two dimensions of burnout (physical fatigue and cognitive weariness). The work-related variables were self-rated transition from studies to work, emotional demands, influence at work and professional isolation, and work-related psychological flexibility was considered as a moderator.

The results indicate that females and younger employees in general rated higher on physical fatigue (34% explained variance). Working as a psychologist vs. as social worker was not a significant predictor. In terms of the independent variables, a deemed-as-unsuccessful transition between studies and work (self-rated), high emotional demands, low influence at work, experienced isolation at work and lower psychological flexibility all made significant direct contributions to physical fatigue. No evidence of moderation was found.

Regarding cognitive weariness, the results (35% explained variance) show that females scored higher. Age and line of work were not significant predictors. In terms of the independent variables, a deemed-as-successful transition between studies and work (self-rated), higher emotional demands, lower influence at work, higher isolation at work and lower psychological flexibility all made significant direct contributions to cognitive weariness. A test of interaction showed that there is a positive relationship between cognitive weariness and isolation at work, for individuals who also score low on psychological flexibility.

Our results are informative for early career management of psychologists and social workers.

The focus of this paper falls on ‘new’ employees; more specifically, social workers who start their first position after their studies, and psychologists who start their first position after their one year of practical training, following completion of their studies. This work firstly makes the assumption that both social workers and psychologists are exposed to emotionally demanding situations in their work life – even from early on. Early on in a new chosen career may typically be the time when a new employee experiences the least ability to influence their work – for example whom they work with and what kinds of tasks they work on. Also, this may also very likely be the time such an employee feels most isolated from other professionals in the same occupation – One is typically employed for one’s unique skills, but works with other professionals, with different skills sets. Lastly, how successfully one perceives oneself to have transitioned from academic to professional life may be an influencing factor.

A postal survey was sent to 5213 (respondents=2514, not target group=103, response rate 49%) psychologists and social workers in Sweden who had graduated within three years of the spring of 2017. In the analysis, psychology students who had not yet reached independent registration as psychologist were also excluded (Final sample=2224: 642 psychologists; 1582 social workers)

The central hypothesis was that emotional demands, perceived influence at work, and experienced isolation at work may contribute to the burnout (as indicated by the dimensions of cognitive weariness and physical fatigue) of psychologists and social workers. The paper set out to investigate a regression model where work-related variables relates to two dimensions of burnout (physical fatigue and cognitive weariness). Work-related variables to consider were self-rated transition from studies to work, emotional demands, influence at work and professional isolation, and work-related psychological flexibility was considered as a moderator.

Regarding physical fatigue, the results (34% explained variance) show that females and younger employees scored higher. Working as a psychologist vs. as social worker was not a significant predictor. In terms of the independent variables, a successful transition between studies and work (self-rated), emotional demands, influence at work, isolation at work and psychological flexibility all made significant direct contributions to physical fatigue. No evidence of moderation was found.

Regarding cognitive weariness, the results (35% explained variance) show that females scored higher. Age, and whether employees were working as a psychologist vs. as a social worker were not significant. In terms of the independent variables, a successful transition between studies and work (self-rated), emotional demands, influence at work, isolation at work and psychological flexibility all made significant direct contributions to cognitive weariness. A test of interaction effect showed that there is a positive relationship between cognitive weariness and isolation at work, for individuals who also score low on psychological flexibility.

BACKGROUND: The identification of potential high-risk groups for depression is of importance. The purpose of the present study was to identify high-risk profiles for depressive symptoms in older individuals, with a focus on functional performance.

METHODS: The population-based Healthy Ageing Initiative included 2,084 community-dwelling individuals (49% women) aged 70. Explorative cluster analysis was used to group participants according to functional performance level, using measures of basic mobility skills, gait variability, and grip strength. Intercluster differences in depressive symptoms (measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS]-15), physical activity (PA; measured objectively with the ActiGraph GT3X+), and a rich set of covariates were examined.

RESULTS: The cluster analysis yielded a seven-cluster solution. One potential high-risk cluster was identified, with overrepresentation of individuals with GDS scores >5 (15.1 vs. 2.7% expected; relative risk = 6.99, P < .001); the prevalence of depressive symptoms was significantly lower in the other clusters (all P < .01). The potential high-risk cluster had significant overrepresentations of obese individuals (39.7 vs. 17.4% expected) and those with type 2 diabetes (24.7 vs. 8.5% expected), and underrepresentation of individuals who fulfilled the World Health Organization's PA recommendations (15.6 vs. 59.1% expected; all P < .01), as well as low levels of functional performance.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study provided a potential high-risk profile for depressive symptoms among elderly community-dwelling individuals, which included low levels functional performance combined with low levels of PA. Including PA in medical screening of the elderly may aid in identification of potential high-risk individuals for depressive symptoms.

Given previous findings on test enhanced learning, the present study examined the implementation of this practice in terms of quizzing, during the progress of a course. After completing the university course, 88 Swedish teacher students were asked to answer an adapted Retrieval Practice and Test Anxiety Survey. The results showed that students perceived quizzing to improve learning, and reduce test anxiety. Nonetheless, based on students’ misconceptions regarding why quizzing actually enhances learning, it is suggested that implications of test enhanced learning was not fully conveyed. It is for educational purpose imperative to not forget this application.