Mental health of computing professionals and students: A systematic literature review

TL;DR

This systematic review examines mental health issues among computing professionals and students, highlighting common concerns like anxiety and depression, and emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and larger sample studies.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of mental health research in computing education and offers recommendations for future research directions and intervention development.

Findings

High prevalence of anxiety and depression among computing students and professionals

Self-guided interventions are commonly used to address mental health issues

Need for larger sample sizes and tailored tools for computing populations

Abstract

The intersections of mental health and computing education is under-examined. In this systematic literature review, we evaluate the state-of-the-art of research in mental health and well-being interventions, assessments, and concerns like anxiety and depression in computer science and computing education. The studies evaluated occurred across the computing education pipeline from introductory to PhD courses and found some commonalities contributing to high reporting of anxiety and depression in those studied. In addition, interventions that were designed to address mental health topics often revolved around self-guidance. Based on our review of the literature, we recommend increasing sample sizes and focusing on the design and development of tools and interventions specifically designed for computing professionals and students.