Triple-Role Strain and the Erosion of Recovery: A Qualitative Study of Work–Study–Family Demands and Mental Health among Employed Graduate Students in Pakistan

Abstract Purpose Employed graduate students combine paid work, postgraduate study and, in many societies, substantial household obligations, yet research on work–study conflict has relied mainly on undergraduate samples in Western countries. This study examines how employed graduate students in Pakistan experience the mental health consequences of this role configuration, how they interpret and cope with distress, and how cultural explanations of mental illness shape their help-seeking. Design/methodology: An exploratory qualitative design was used with full-time salaried employees enrolled part-time in graduate programmes at four universities in Karachi. Data came from one focus group (n = 6) and one in-depth interview (n = 1). Data were analysed with reflexive thematic analysis, using conservation of resources (COR) theory and the effort–recovery model as sensitising lenses. Findings: Five themes were developed: (1) triple-role accumulation and the colonisation of time; (2) recovery deficit and a loop of perseverative cognition and sleep disruption; (3) psychological, behavioural and somatic expressions of strain; (4) coping as resource replenishment; and (5) cultural interpretive frames (stigma, supernatural attribution and an intergenerational literacy gap) that delayed recognition and channelled early help-seeking through somatic medicine. Originality: The study builds on the existing two domain model of work–study conflict and suggests a three domain (work–study–family) model of work–study conflict and three propositions for a triple-role resource-depletion framework. These state that household duties deplete the remaining time each household member generally takes to recover, that perseverative cognitions relate overload to disruption of their sleep, and that cultural interpretive frames extend loss spirals by channeling distress into physical rather than psychological care. Implications: Universities and employers in comparable contexts should treat recovery time as a protected resource. They should also integrate mental health literacy with flexible scheduling and with referral pathways that recognise somatic presentations. Because the sample is small and homogeneous, the propositions should be tested in larger and more diverse samples.

Hali tarjima qilinmagan