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

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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

109

Paper Authors

biography

Sepehr Khorshid The University of Alabama

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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.

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biography

Raissa Seichi Marchiori The University of Alabama

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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.

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Siyuan Song The University of Alabama Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-6444-3914

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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.

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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.

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

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