Comparing Wellbeing Indicators, Perception of Stress, Competition, and Achievement Between Undergraduate Engineering, Other STEM, and Non-STEM Majors

Matilde Luz Sanchez-Pena; Chloe Otis

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Conference: 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual Conference
Publication Date: July 26, 2021
Start Date: July 26, 2021
End Date: July 19, 2022
Conference Session: Student Engagement, Socioemotional Needs, and Social Support During Pandemic
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 17
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--36819
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/36819
Download Count: 1287

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Paper Authors

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Matilde Luz Sanchez-Pena University at Buffalo

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Matilde Sanchez-Pena is an Assistant Professor in engineering education at University at Buffalo - SUNY. Her current research areas include (a) advancing institutional diversity, (b) cultures of health in engineering education, and (c) data analysis skills of engineers. She aims to promote a more equitable engineering field in which students of all backgrounds can acquire the knowledge and skills to achieve their goals. She achieved her Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University. Before engaging in Engineering Education research, she completed graduate degrees in Industrial Engineering and Statistics and contributed to a wide range of research areas including genetic disorders, manufacturing optimization, cancer biomarker detection, and the evaluation of social programs. Dr. Sanchez-Pena is passionate about teaching engineering students and First-Year Engineering students in particular, from whom she draws inspiration because of their energy and creativity. She takes as her mission to foster such traits and support their holistic development, so they can find their unique engineering path and enact positive change.

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Chloe Otis Purdue University, West Lafayette

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Abstract

The mental health crisis faced by colleges and universities across the U.S. has unveiled the need to understand more about the elements of the college experience that might be contributing to the detriment of students' mental health. While the demands of a college degree are high despite the selected major, there are elements in the student experiences in particular majors that might make things more complicated. In the case of engineering, it has been argued that the assumption of the rigor and prestige involved in the pursuit of an engineering major imposes additional pressures related to competition and achievement, which could reflect in poorer mental health. Furthermore, such pressures might be heightened for underrepresented groups that keep facing cumulative challenges while pursuing an engineering degree. While some recent work has explored stress and mental health indicators of engineering undergraduates, comparisons of such indicators across disciplines are scarce. This study examines the differences in wellbeing indicators, perceptions of stress, competition, and achievement between undergraduates in engineering, non-engineering STEM, and non-STEM majors. Using data from the Healthy Minds Study for the academic year 2019-2020 under the framing of social identity theory, we found no difference in the weighted means of students' positive mental health outlook, also known as flourishing. There were some significant differences in depression and anxiety scores, which indicated lower scores among engineering students when compared to other groups. Furthermore, a lower sense of belonging and identity connectedness was also identified among engineering students at a significant level. These results indicate the need for additional research in understanding the role of belonging and identity in the mental health of engineering undergraduates. A more granular analysis is necessary to disentangle the nuances among the different groups considered and expand our understanding of the cultural elements in engineering education relevant to student mental health and wellbeing.

Citation
Format

Sanchez-Pena, M. L., & Otis, C. (2021, July), Comparing Wellbeing Indicators, Perception of Stress, Competition, and Achievement Between Undergraduate Engineering, Other STEM, and Non-STEM Majors Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--36819

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The mental health crisis faced by colleges and universities across the U.S. has unveiled the need to understand more about the elements of the college experience that might be contributing to the detriment of students&#39; mental health. While the demands of a college degree are high despite the selected major, there are elements in the student experiences in particular majors that might make things more complicated. In the case of engineering, it has been argued that the assumption of the rigor and prestige involved in the pursuit of an engineering major imposes additional pressures related to competition and achievement, which could reflect in poorer mental health. Furthermore, such pressures might be heightened for underrepresented groups that keep facing cumulative challenges while pursuing an engineering degree. While some recent work has explored stress and mental health indicators of engineering undergraduates, comparisons of such indicators across disciplines are scarce. This study examines the differences in wellbeing indicators, perceptions of stress, competition, and achievement between undergraduates in engineering, non-engineering STEM, and non-STEM majors. Using data from the Healthy Minds Study for the academic year 2019-2020 under the framing of social identity theory, we found no difference in the weighted means of students&#39; positive mental health outlook, also known as flourishing. There were some significant differences in depression and anxiety scores, which indicated lower scores among engineering students when compared to other groups.
Furthermore, a lower sense of belonging and identity connectedness was also identified among engineering students at a significant level. These results indicate the need for additional research in understanding the role of belonging and identity in the mental health of engineering undergraduates. A more granular analysis is necessary to disentangle the nuances among the different groups considered and expand our understanding of the cultural elements in engineering education relevant to student mental health and wellbeing.
AU  - Matilde Luz Sanchez-Pena
AU  - Chloe Otis
CY  - Virtual Conference
DA  - 2021/07/26
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Comparing Wellbeing Indicators, Perception of Stress, Competition, and Achievement Between Undergraduate Engineering, Other STEM, and Non-STEM Majors
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/36819
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--36819
ER  -