COVID-19 bereavement, depressive symptoms, and binge drinking.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the death of over half a million Americans, leaving in its wake widespread grief and despair. Using national survey data (n ​= ​1998) and a treatment-weighting strategy, this study examines how COVID-19 bereavement associates with depressive symptoms and binge drinking. After adjustment for non-random exposure to COVID-19 bereavement, I find that respondents who have lost someone close to them to the virus report greater depressive symptomology and more frequent binge drinking.

Status Variation in Anticipatory Stressors and Their Associations with Depressive Symptoms.

Members of structurally disadvantaged social groups report more frequent exposure to a variety of negative life events and chronic strains, yet little research has examined whether similar patterns exist for anticipatory stressors, or challenging circumstances that loom as potential threats in the future. This study uses data collected as part of a national survey of college seniors (N = 995) to examine how anticipatory stress regarding economic and residential security, exposure to traumatic events, and experiences of discrimination vary by gender identity, race-ethnicity, sexual orientation, and first-generation college student status. Consistent with stress theory, anticipatory stressors are more commonly reported by members of disadvantaged groups.

Occupational variation in burnout among medical staff: Evidence for the stress of higher status.

Contemporary research highlights the serious mental health issues facing physicians and allied health professionals. Yet to date, much of this research has focused on these occupational groups in isolation. Drawing upon data collected from medical staff in a neonatal intensive care unit (N = 222), we address this gap by contrasting the mental health and workplace experiences of four groups of healthcare workers: physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and respiratory therapists.

Parting ways: Sex-based differences in premedical attrition.

Despite women's greater propensity to enter college aspiring to careers in medicine, they are less likely than men to persist in these ambitions. Past research suggests that students' experiences in coursework strongly influence their decision to continue along or depart from the premedical track, yet it remains unclear whether women and men have differential experiences in coursework that contribute to sex-based disparities in premedical attrition. To gain insight into whether and how premeds' experiences in coursework contribute to gendered patterns of attrition, this study employs a mixed methods design that combines longitudinal survey data collected from premedical students at a large state university with in-depth interview data collected from a subset of respondents.

Depressive symptoms, burnout, and declining medical career interest among undergraduate pre-medical students.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between mental health issues and medical career interest among undergraduate premedical students, and to explore whether this association varies by gender.

Methods: A longitudinal survey of freshman and sophomore premedical students at Indiana University was conducted during the 2015-16 academic year. Survey data were collected from 390 respondents via an online questionnaire (response rate=14%) in September 2015, and 292 of these respondents participated in the follow-up survey in April 2016 (retention rate=75%).

Friend or frenemy? Experiential homophily and educational track attrition among premedical students.

Support from experientially similar others-individuals who have been through the same life transition or faced a similar set of stressful circumstances-has been shown to be effective for coping with issues ranging from chronic illness to bereavement. Less research has examined how networks comprised of experientially similar others may shape academic outcomes. Using longitudinal egocentric network data collected from early career premedical students at a large research university (n = 268), results indicate that greater experiential homophily in premeds' networks are associated with a lower likelihood of departing from the premedical career track at the end of the academic year.

Subjective social status and premedical students' attitudes towards medical school.

Although students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to depart from the medical education pipeline, little is known about how premedical students' social origins influence the adversities they face, the resources they possess, or the internal struggles they confront in deciding whether or not to pursue a career in medicine. Using original data collected from premedical students at a flagship state university in the Midwest (N = 364), this study explores how subjective social status shapes students' reservations about medical school attendance and their perceptions of external pressure to pursue a career in medicine. Status-based discrepancies in financial strains, social capital, and interpersonal stressors-and the degree to which variation across these measures mediates status differences in medical school outlook-are also explored.