Does the severity of psychopathology of Italian students receiving counselling services increase over time? A 5‐year analysis and a comparison with a clinical and non‐clinical sample

Abstract

Psychological problems-from the most minor such as exams anxiety to the more severe such as personality disorders-are not rare in young adults. University Counselling Services often present the only opportunity for undergraduates to meet health professionals and to be confronted with their difficulties in a non-clinical setting or-in cases of more severe psychopathology-to be referred to mental health services. Recent research attests to the increasing severity of psychological problems among undergraduate and graduate university students. The question necessarily arises as to whether this trend is replicated in the general population being referred to mental health services and, if such is the case, whether there are differences between the two populations. This paper analyses the change in the severity of self-reported symptoms in a sample of 194 students attending a University Counselling Service over a course of 5 years (2010-2014). Clinical severity was assessed in both groups by Symptoms Check List 90-Revised, Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure, and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire scores. Results show a substantial stability in severity level across time, and a comparison with an age-matched sample of patients referred to a public hospital clinical psychology service shows overlapping data with respect to disease severity level. As the mental health of university students is an important public health issue, the implications for the organization and structure of university counselling services and the connection with public mental health hospital centres are discussed.

Effect of online counselling on emotional outcomes during the COVID‐19 pandemic: An innovative group intervention for university students using the Brain Wave Modulation Technique

“…In fact, very few studies in Italy have investigated the effectiveness of university counselling services (e.g. Biasi et al, 2015Biasi et al, , 2017Cerutti et al, 2020;Ghilardi et al, 2018;Strepparava et al, 2016Strepparava et al, , 2017, while none have focused on online interventions.…”

Predictors of psychological distress amongst nursing students: A multicenter cross-sectional study

“…College students exhibit high levels of stress (Leppink et al, 2016), and several studies have shown that nursing students experience higher stress than the general student population (Labrague et al, 2018a). Chronic exposure to stress has a negative impact on students' learning, and it is associated with mental and physical problems (Labrague, 2013;Strepparava et al, 2017a). High levels of stress amongst nursing students and professionals have been linked to alcoholism, drug dependence, use of illegal substances, eating and sleep disorders, suicide, and absenteeism (Deary et al, 2003;Hawton et al, 2002;Timmins and Kaliszer, 2002;Watson et al, 2008).…”

An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study on the Relationship between Dispositional Mindfulness and Empathy in Undergraduate Medical Students

“…5,6 Empathy in medicine is associated with improved adherence to treatment, 7 better clinical outcomes 8,9 and higher patient satisfaction. 10 Studies conducted with medical students reported that empathy was correlated positively with patient-centeredness 11 and negatively with burnout, 12,13 depicting empathy as a protective factor against the psychological distress among medical and healthcare students [14][15][16] and professionals. 17 In light of these clinical outcomes, there is a growing interest in identifying the psychoattitudinal variables [18][19][20] that assist medical students in developing empathy during medical studies.…”