Assessing Stress Levels and Stressors Among Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Students: Underpinnings for Mental Health Curricula Development

Sepehr Khorshid; Raissa Seichi Marchiori; Siyuan Song

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: June 26, 2024
Conference Session: Sustainability and Student Health in Construction Education
Tagged Division: Construction Engineering Division (CONST)
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--46610
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46610
Download Count: 131

Paper Authors

biography

Sepehr Khorshid The University of Alabama

visit author page

Sepehr Khorshid is a Ph.D. student with a background in civil engineering. He serves as a graduate research assistant (GRA) in the department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama. Sepehr's research focuses on his areas of interest, which include occupational safety and health, workforce training, and engineering education. He is also involved in developing training materials and programs aimed at enhancing safety in the construction and mining industries.

visit author page

biography

Raissa Seichi Marchiori The University of Alabama

visit author page

Raissa Seichi Marchiori is currently a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) and a Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama. Raissa obtained her bachelor's degree and an MBA in Civil Engineering in Brazil. Her research topic is in the construction engineering area. Her research interests include implementing Building Information Modeling on construction sites, safety training, workforce development, and engineering education. Through these research topics, Raissa has been publishing papers for peer-reviewed journal and conference proceedings. Also, she is part of Dr. Siyuan Song’s research lab, the Safety Automation and Visualization Environment (SAVE) Laboratory, which integrates technologies and education themes to improve building performance and safety engineering.

visit author page

biography

Siyuan Song The University of Alabama orcid.org/0000-0002-6444-3914

visit author page

Dr. Siyuan Song is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental engineering at the University of Alabama. Her research interests include Occupational Safety and Health, Training and Workforce Development, Engineering Education, Building Information Modeling, Machine Learning and AI in Construction, and Construction Progress Monitoring and Simulation.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

Even in this post-pandemic world, it cannot be overlooked that the global community has yet to fully recover from the long-term mental impacts of the pandemic and its associated challenges. Among these, the shift to remote learning and isolated lives has significantly affected students’ mental health. While it is widely discussed that engineering students are more prone to mental health conditions, investigating the mental well-being of students specializing in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) is also critical. This research focuses on examining the stress levels and identifying key factors contributing to stress, such as academic workload, anxieties related to job searches, and concerns over future professional prospects. In our previous research, we also highlighted the significance of mental health challenges among engineering students. Our previous study recommended integrating mental health resources into the engineering curriculum, particularly for civil and construction students [1]. Building on our prior research, this study aims to assess stress levels and explore the relationships between various stressors and demographic variables among AEC students. Following Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, this study distributed the developed questionnaires to 74 AEC students. The study categorized stressors into three distinct groups: “Personal/family-related stressors”, “Academic-related stressors”, and “Industry/work-related stressors”. Aligned with the study’s objectives, the research customized and utilized the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), comprising 10 questions for each group, to measure stress levels among the participants. This study underlines the importance of addressing mental health in AEC education, revealing personal and family-related stressors as primary concerns for students. It highlights the critical role of communication skills and the need for gender-sensitive approaches in mental health education. It suggests incorporating mental health topics into the curriculum, as recommended by students, to address stressors effectively and improve preparedness for workplace challenges. This approach aims to foster a resilient future workforce, ready to handle the professional environment’s demands. Future research should build upon these findings, broadening the scope to include a wider range of engineering disciplines and engaging diverse stakeholders. This expanded approach aims to refine and enhance mental health support, leading to a more comprehensive and impactful curriculum for engineering students. While this study aims to understand the aforementioned stressors and their relationship with demographic factors, the study also endeavors to pave the way for future development of tailored mental health programs for the targeted group. The long-term goal is to enhance resilience, improve mental well-being skills, and encourage help-seeking behaviors among future AEC students and entry-level engineers. This will also help future engineers to communicate effectively and tolerate the world of industry.

Citation
Format

Khorshid, S., & Marchiori, R. S., & Song, S. (2024, June), Assessing Stress Levels and Stressors Among Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Students: Underpinnings for Mental Health Curricula Development Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--46610

TY - CPAPER
AB - Even in this post-pandemic world, it cannot be overlooked that the global community has yet to fully recover from the long-term mental impacts of the pandemic and its associated challenges. Among these, the shift to remote learning and isolated lives has significantly affected students’ mental health. While it is widely discussed that engineering students are more prone to mental health conditions, investigating the mental well-being of students specializing in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) is also critical. This research focuses on examining the stress levels and identifying key factors contributing to stress, such as academic workload, anxieties related to job searches, and concerns over future professional prospects. In our previous research, we also highlighted the significance of mental health challenges among engineering students. Our previous study recommended integrating mental health resources into the engineering curriculum, particularly for civil and construction students [1]. Building on our prior research, this study aims to assess stress levels and explore the relationships between various stressors and demographic variables among AEC students. Following Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, this study distributed the developed questionnaires to 74 AEC students. The study categorized stressors into three distinct groups: “Personal/family-related stressors”, “Academic-related stressors”, and “Industry/work-related stressors”. Aligned with the study’s objectives, the research customized and utilized the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), comprising 10 questions for each group, to measure stress levels among the participants. This study underlines the importance of addressing mental health in AEC education, revealing personal and family-related stressors as primary concerns for students. It highlights the critical role of communication skills and the need for gender-sensitive approaches in mental health education. It suggests incorporating mental health topics into the curriculum, as recommended by students, to address stressors effectively and improve preparedness for workplace challenges. This approach aims to foster a resilient future workforce, ready to handle the professional environment’s demands. Future research should build upon these findings, broadening the scope to include a wider range of engineering disciplines and engaging diverse stakeholders. This expanded approach aims to refine and enhance mental health support, leading to a more comprehensive and impactful curriculum for engineering students. While this study aims to understand the aforementioned stressors and their relationship with demographic factors, the study also endeavors to pave the way for future development of tailored mental health programs for the targeted group. The long-term goal is to enhance resilience, improve mental well-being skills, and encourage help-seeking behaviors among future AEC students and entry-level engineers. This will also help future engineers to communicate effectively and tolerate the world of industry.
AU - Sepehr Khorshid
AU - Raissa Seichi Marchiori
AU - Siyuan Song
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Assessing Stress Levels and Stressors Among Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Students: Underpinnings for Mental Health Curricula Development
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46610
DO - 10.18260/1-2--46610
ER -