2024-01-15 19:27:46
Yael Weinstein, psychologist and coordinator of the mental health team of the Student Health Directorate, provides her vision on addressing the issue at our university.
Depression is a mood disorder that, according to the WHO, is characterized by persistent sadness and a lack of interest or pleasure in activities that were previously rewarding and pleasurable¹.
This condition, as well as related mental disorders, can have a profound effect on all aspects of life, particularly academic performance, productivity at work, family and social relationships, and ability to participate in the community.
In this context, it calls us to ask ourselves: How much is it specifically affecting our university students?
In a study published by the Millennium Institute for Research in Depression and Personality², it was shown that female students exhibit greater symptoms of depression, and that levels of depression among students do not vary by institution, age, or socioeconomic level. At the same time, a study by Barrera and Vinet³ reports that the rates of depressive disorders reported in university students nationally and internationally tend to be high compared to the general population.
The above allows us to ensure that our university students are a high-risk group and this is why, as a health department, we are pushed to assume a great commitment to the mental health of students, working hard to increase and innovate the offer of mental health promotion, prevention and care activities of the University of Chile.
We are talking about a period of life characterized by the change of evolutionary stage, giving way to the so-called emerging adulthood⁴, a period of vital exploration for the construction of a personal identity. The increase in academic demand and performance pressure compared to the school stage adds to the change in the social scenario and the requirement to establish a group of peers that makes the university experience meaningful. Along with this, we cannot ignore the reality of the country and the difficulty that exists in being able to have professional mental health care in a timely manner.
The good news is that the same MIDAP study showed that the higher the level of psychological well-being of students, the lower the level of depressive symptoms. This sets the guidelines for how to face the challenge of university mental health. According to research published in the Chilean Medical Journal in 2019⁵, the most relevant factors for promoting well-being were autonomy, positive relationships with others, and life purpose. Understanding this, the great challenge that we face next is how to generate educational spaces consistent with the development of these points and that are reflected transversally within the learning process.
In this sense, community discussion becomes vitally important on topics such as achieving a lifestyle that provides well-being in accordance with study and performance, promoting spaces for meeting with others, promoting social initiatives. student participation and study plans updated to current times, which contribute to generating meaning with future tasks.
I believe that our path must be to commit to these axes of development, not only as psychosocial support teams for students, but that we must imprint these emphases on the entire university experience during its various stages, to be able to build an educational community that cultivates well-being and health of students, and contribute to a society that allows people to develop their full potential in a healthy way.
Fuentes:
1.-OMS, https://www.who.int/es/health-topics/la-d%C3%A9pression#tab=tab_3
2.- MIDAP, FONDECYT Regular 1150166
3.-Barrera-Herrera A, Vinet E. Emerging adulthood and cultural characteristics of the stage in Chilean university students. Ter Psicol 2017; 35 (1): 47-56.
4.-Arnett JJ. Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. Am Psychol 2000
5.- Medical journal of. Chile vol.147 no.5, Santiago May 2019.
Yael Weinstein
Student Health Directorate
University of Chile
Published on Monday, January 15, 2024
1705347167
#Building #university #wellness #culture