New publication: Doctoral Problems and Taboos: Silence, Well-Being and Academic Persistence in Czech Doctoral Education

SΛTIS member Tomáš Lintner, together with colleagues Karla Brücknerová, Kristýna Šejnohová, Barbora Nekardová, Jakub Vlček, Jana Navrátilová and Boglárka Belovecová, has published a new study called Doctoral Problems and Taboos: Silence, Well-Being and Academic Persistence in Czech Doctoral Education.

Drawing on a mixed-methods design, the study distinguishes between two related but distinct concepts: doctoral problems — stressors inherent to doctoral study — and doctoral taboos, defined as issues that remain difficult to voice with supervisors or peers because their disclosure may evoke shame or threaten these relationships.

Using qualitative data from 21 in-depth interviews and a national survey of 190 doctoral students in the Czech Republic, the authors applied machine learning models to examine how perceived problems and taboos relate to student well-being and intentions to stay in or leave academia. Financial difficulties were the most prevalent doctoral problem, reported by roughly 75% of students. Partial dependence analyses revealed that several taboo topics — including finances, parenthood and supervisor quality — were among the strongest predictors of burnout, depression, anxiety, stress and dropout intentions.

The findings suggest that the harm associated with doctoral struggles depends not only on their prevalence but on whether they can be openly addressed. Issues that become taboo — precisely because they are hardest to speak about — carry the greatest risk for doctoral well-being and academic persistence. The results contribute to ongoing debates on mental health in higher education and the structural conditions that silence doctoral students' most pressing concerns.

Read the full article here.