A Comparative Study of Mental Health of Iranian Research Scholars regarding Their Academic Variables

The main purpose of this study was to examine mental health of Iranian research scholars that were studying in different countries of the world in relation to variables such as university academic language, major field of the study, educational system of university, number of presented or published article, and official language of the country of study place of students. The final sample of this study consisted of 80 male Ph.D. students who were studying in different countries. Distribution of sample based on study place country was 19, 15, 19, 9, and 18 students for England, Russia, India, Australia, and other countries respectively. The two instruments employed in the collection of data i.e. Demographic Survey Form and Mental Health Scale in which developed by Kaman (1992) and adapted by the investigator. Findings of this study indicate that there are significant differences between research scholars regarding of some dimensions of their mental health in respect to academic variables. Introduction Numerous attempts have been made to define the concept of mental health. However, the approaches to this concept have differed widely depending on the fields presented by the authors. The concept of mental health emerged from mental hygiene movement in year 1905. Beers brought a revolution in the medical profession and life with his publication entitled mind that found itself. In 1948, the international preparatory committee of international congress on mental health, in its proposed definition accepted mental health as a condition, which permits the optimal physical, intellectual, and emotional development of an individual. As far as this is compatible with that of other individuals, both these international organizations have accepted interpersonal relations and adaptability to environment as indicators of mental health. Overall, there has been a shifting of emphasis from psychological illness to psychological health. Quality of mental health is no more than a limited relationship or capacity to adapt to environmental change. Jahoda (1958) proposed six characteristics of a mentally healthy individual, namely: environmental mastery, undistorted perception of reality, integration, autonomy, growth and development and attitude towards himself. According to Kaplan (1971 ), mental health involves a continuous adaptation to changing circumstances, which a living, being strives to achieve between internal demands and the requirements of a changing environment. French (1978) in his model of mental health, had four dimensions of mental health from a dynamic system in the sense that a change in any one of them will necessarily produce a change in at least one or other. These dimensions are: 1. Objective person - environment fit. 2. Subjective person - environment fit. 3. Contact of Reality. 4. Accessibly of the self. Taggi (1983) presented a vivid picture of mentally healthy person. The description goes as: A healthy person's response to life is without strain; his ambitions are within the scope of practical realization; he has a shrewd appreciation of his own strength and weakness; he can be helpful, but can also accept aid. He is resilient in failure and level headed in success. He is capable of friendship and of aggressiveness when necessary. The recent emphasis has been on development of adaptability and compatibility so that the individual is able to maintain internal balance in ever- changing situations and environment. A mentally healthy individual is the one who is free from anxiety and disabling symptoms. If he can establish relationship with others, copes well with life's demands than his physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being can be said to be complete (Kamau, 1992). In the present investigation mental health, consists of five subscales as follows: Personal well - being, anxiety factor, disabling symptoms, capacity to establish constructive relationship and capacity to cope with the ordinary demands and stress of life. …