Purpose: Doctoral student well-being is an important matter that shapes the well-being of academics throughout their careers. Given that well-being has been found to be closely related to employee productivity and efficiency, strategies associated with maintaining well-being during PhD studies might be crucial for higher education, its outcomes and—just as importantly—for a balanced life of PhD students. Method: Based on 17 studies, this literature review critically assesses the literature on doctoral student well-being. Results: Theoretical models, concepts of well-being, and methods applied are discussed, as are the results of the articles. The reviewed studies are then discussed based on a SWOT analysis addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed research as well as the identified opportunities and threats, which can be used as a basis for future research. Based on the review findings and the SWOT analysis, a multidimensional view of the well-being of doctoral students is proposed. Conclusions: The study proposes a more student-centred approach to meeting doctoral students’ needs, and the enhancement of doctoral student well-being in order, as a long-term goal, to improve academics’ well-being and productivity.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine whether health complaints and self-reported health were associated with bullying victimization in a large cohort of Icelandic children and adolescents. Methods: In this study, we used data from a school-based cross-sectional survey, specifically, the Icelandic contribution to the international research network Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC). The study population included all students throughout Iceland in grades 6, 8, and 10 (mean age 13 years, standard deviation 1.61). The participation rate was 84% (N = 11,018). Participating students completed an anonymous standardized questionnaire in their classrooms. Results: Bullying victimization was associated with feeling depressed (odds ratio 2.61), having difficulty falling asleep, dizziness, and low self-reported health. No differences were found between sex and age groups. Conclusions: Children and adolescents who are bullied appear to more often experience depression, difficulties falling asleep, dizziness, and poor health; however, health complaints were also relatively high among non-bullied children and adolescents. Bullying prevention measures must be implemented in children’s and adolescents’ social environments. In addition to assessing bullying interventions, further research should focus on methods of enhancing resilience in this population.

Although Disordered Eating Behaviors (DEB) is an ill-defined concept, multiple studies have examined prevalence of DEB and its relations to other variables in various populations. DEB have been shown to predict more serious eating disorders which in turn can lead to death. Mostly girls seem to suffer from DEB, but the question has been raised whether this, at least, partially is due to the methods used for screening. The SCOFF-questionnaire has been suggested as a quick and easily administered tool to assess DEB. However, the psychometric results regarding SCOFF suggest some inconsistencies, and more research is needed in various countries and age samples. To validate SCOFF, a total of 1265 Swedish adolescents (51.6 % girls) completed self-report questionnaires using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) as a reference standard. The factor analyses show inconclusive results as to whether SCOFF should be regarded as a comprehensive scale; furthermore, the results indicate a correlation between SCOFF and the EDE-Q in both girl and boy samples. Girls scored significantly higher on SCOFF and also had a higher total score, indicating more severe problems than boys. The results raised questions as to whether the SCOFF might be interpreted and responded to in different ways by girls and boys, risking overlooking boys’ DEB and also whether one “yes” answer, instead of the stipulated two, could be sufficient when using SCOFF for screening purposes. In sum, the results challenge the use of SCOFF in a general adolescent population.

Research on the relationships between adolescent and parental disordered eating (DE) and emotion dysregulation is scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore whether mothers’ and fathers’ own DE, as measured by SCOFF questionnaire, and emotion dysregulation, as measured by the difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS), were associated with their daughters’ or sons’ DE and emotion dysregulation. Furthermore, the importance of shared family meals and possible parent-related predictors of adolescent DE were explored. The total sample comprised 1,265 adolescents (M age = 16.19, SD = 1.21; age range 13.5–19 years, 54.5% female) whose parents had received a self-report questionnaire via mail. Of these, 235 adolescents (18.6% of the total sample) whose parents completed the questionnaire were used in the analyses. Parents’ responses were matched and compared with those of their child. Adolescent girls showed greater levels of DE overall than did their parents. Furthermore, DE was associated with emotion dysregulation among both adolescents and parents. Adolescent and parental emotion dysregulation was associated, although there were gender differences in the specifics of this relationship. The frequency of shared dinner meals was the only variable that was associated to DE and emotion dysregulation among adolescents, while parental eating disorder was the only variable that enhanced the probability of adolescent DE. The present study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that there are significant associations between parents and their adolescent children in terms of DE, emotion dysregulation, and shared family meals. Future studies should break down these relationships among mothers, fathers, girls, and boys to further clarify the specific associational, and possibly predictive, directions.

Using the person-oriented approach, we determined the relationships between four indicators (restraint and eating, shape, and weight concerns) of disordered eating (DE), as measured by the self-reported Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), to identify typical DE patterns. We then related these patterns to clinical EDE-Q cut-off scores and emotion dysregulation, depression, self-esteem, and two categories of DE behaviors (≥2 or ≤1 “yes” responses on the SCOFF questionnaire). Typical patterns of DE were identified in a community sample of 1,265 Swedish adolescents (M age = 16.19, SD = 1.21; age range 13.5–19 years) using a cluster analysis. Separate analyses were performed for girls (n = 689) and boys (n = 576). The cluster analysis yielded a six-cluster solution for each gender. Four of the six clusters for girls and five for boys showed scores above the clinical cut-off on at least one of the four DE indicators. For girls, the two clusters that scored above the clinical cut-offs on all four DE indicators reported severe psychological problems, including high scores on emotion dysregulation and depression and low scores on self-esteem. In contrast, for boys, although two clusters reported above the clinical cut-off on all four indicators, only the cluster with exceedingly high scores on shape and weight concerns reported high emotion dysregulation and depression, and extremely low self-esteem. Furthermore, significantly more girls and boys in the most problematic DE clusters reported ≥2 “yes” responses on the SCOFF questionnaire (as opposed to ≤1 response), indicating clear signs of DE and severe psychological difficulties. We suspect that the various problematic DE patterns will require different paths back to a healthy diet. However, more research is needed to determine the developmental trajectories of these DE patterns and ensure more precise clinical cut-off scores, especially for boys. Comprehensive understanding of DE patterns might be of use to healthcare professionals for detecting DE before it develops into an eating disorder. Lund, EPN (dnr: 2012/499).

The aim of this study was to map which instruments are currently being used to measure disordered eating in adolescent boys as part of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Utilizing the PRISMA review protocol, 174 journal articles were reviewed. Sixty-seven articles used versions of the Eating Attitudes Test to measure adolescent boys' disordered eating, 32 used versions of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire, 30 used versions of the Eating Disorder Inventory, 25 used SCOFF, and 10 used the Drive for Muscularity Scale. A plethora of other instruments for measuring disordered eating were utilized as well. Studying adolescent boys' disordered eating by using instruments primarily developed and validated for girls may provide unreliable estimates of the numbers of boys who suffer from disordered eating, which would preclude early intervention. One strength of the reviewed studies was that several used multiple measurements to validate their results. One of the weaknesses was the lack of distinguishing genders among certain groups, such as athletes or patients. Among the opportunities identified was the possibility of expanding on research on the association between puberty and disordered eating, with sports and parents potentially acting as buffers against the onset of disordered eating. A clear threat to research on disordered eating among adolescent boys was the (in)accuracy of the measurements.