Call December 2022

Open Call for Articles

“Mental Health in Academia”

December 2022 Special Issue of the MCAA Newsletter (ISSN 2663-9483)

The December 2022 Special Issue (SI) of the MCAA Newsletter will strive to focus on the mental health and well-being of academics. The SI will explore how years of career stress and competitive culture have contributed to the adverse mental health of students, staff, and researchers, which has exacerbated the ‘Great Resignation’ effect on academia. It will also discuss the bold measures and systemic changes needed to reform the current situation.

The MCAA Newsletter SI will serve as a platform for researchers at all career stages to share their experiences or struggles and delve into the strategies and policies that can be implemented to improve the overall well-being of academics.

While the challenges academics face are not new, the increased rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among academics¹ call for urgent action. The hierarchical structure of academia can sometimes be overexploited. Researchers’ social identities - e.g., linked to gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disabilities, and languages are often, the basis for additional bias and discrimination^2,3.

To give visibility and create a culture of inclusivity, support, and prevention, we are launching an Open Call for articles addressed to all interested MCAA members and beyond. If you think you can share an article or an interview on the way academia has affected or influenced your mental and physical health, professional career choices, and aspirations, then we encourage you to do so in this SI.

We are looking for articles, interviews, and contributions that will address the issues surrounding:

- History of mental health within academia: Are the challenges we face today new, or did they always exist?

- Why is it so important to address these issues now? 

- Work culture: Toxic environment, - micromanagement or no support, bullying, publish or perish culture, stigma surrounding mental health;

- Job insecurities- limited opportunities and short-term tenures, low wages, no training for jobs outside academia;

- Implementation of strategies and policies;

- Initiatives within organizations/ universities or countries that support academic mental health.

We welcome suggestions from researchers across disciplines

The submission process consists of three stages:

1. All MCAA members are invited to submit their pitches (50-150 words) exclusively via the form below by 19 September 2022.

https://forms.monday.com/forms/0b461b1a80dc378ff59129444ead5f6e?r=use1

2. Accepted submissions would be notified by 22 September 2022, at which stage the authors will be invited to submit a full article (approx. 750 words, see editorial guideline of the MCAA).

3. Deadline for the submission of initial draft on 15th of October 2022.

All submissions will be evaluated by the Guest-editors, with the support of the MCAA Editorial Board.

 References

1. Satinsky, E.N., Kimura, T., Kiang, M.V. et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among Ph.D. students. Sci Rep (2021) 11, 14370

2. Llorens et al. Gender bias in academia: A lifetime problem that needs solutions. Neuron. (2021) 109(13):2047-2074

3. M.A. Armstrong, J. Jovanovic. Starting at The Crossroads: Intersectional approaches to institutionally supporting underrepresented minority women stem faculty. J. Women Minor. Sci. Eng., 21 (2015), pp. 141-157