Well-being among PhD candidates.

Objectives: The aim of the pilot study was to demonstrate that PhD students declare lower psychological well-being, and more often complain about psychosomatic symptomsand illnesses compared to individuals who did not continue education after university.

Methods: A total of 270 participants were involved in the study: 135 PhD students (mean age = 30.03 years) and 135 control individuals (mean age = 30.13 years) who did not continue education beyond their master's degree. The following methods were used: a sociodemographic survey taking into account a list of illnesses and psychosomatic symptoms, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the SPP-25.

Results: The results were calculated using ANOVA. The results show a significantly higher severity of the following: somatic symptoms (F = 12.913; p < 0.001), anxiety and insomnia (F =19.769;p < 0.001), behavioral disorders (F =8.782;p = 0.003), symptoms of depression (F = 8.560; p = 0.004) among PhD students when compared with individuals who chose not to continue education.

Conclusions: The results suggest that PhD students demonstrate a significantly lower level of general mental well-being, a higher level of behavioral disorders, somatic symptoms, anxiety and sleep problems, as well as depressive symptoms - compared to individuals who did not continue education after achieving a master's degree.