Search

We examined academic advisors' clinically significant symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), including whether there are statistically significant relationships between advisors' demographic characteristics, work-related variables, institutional variables, burnout, resilience, and risk of clinically significant MDD/GAD symptoms. We analyzed survey data of academic advisors collected from February to March 2023 (n = 777) and found that 16.9% of advisors met the criteria for MDD while 29.6% met the criteria for GAD, rates higher than national averages. While there were some demographic differences, advisors who experienced higher rates of burnout had increased odds of experiencing MDD and GAD symptoms. In addition, advisors' resilience was associated with decreased odds of experiencing MDD and GAD symptoms.

This study examined whether there are statistically significant relationships between academic advisors' demographic characteristics, advising-related variables, institutional variables, organizational context variables, and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a national sample of academic advisors' survey data collected from February to March 2023 (n = 821). The results suggest 40.8% of academic advisors feel burned out from their work at least once a week to every day. The demographic characteristics and institutional variables did not explain a significant amount of variance in advisors' burnout; however, advising caseload and organizational context variables (i.e., workload, reward, community, and values) were consistently and significantly (p < 0.05) associated with advisors' emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment.