Percepção de estudantes universitários ingressantes das ciências biológicas e da saúde sobre vivências acadêmicas: um estudo sobre saúde mental

Abstract

Entering the university context is marked by several environmental and social situations. Some are general, which will be experienced by everyone as a period of development that brings about psychological changes, for example. Others are more specific and can happen to some people as maladaptive coping mechanisms, lack of skills and functional resources to deal with new experiences, change of residence or city, separation from family

and peers, socialization and communication problems, distorted and negative self- perception, habits and lifestyle, choice and satisfaction with the undergraduate course.

Thus, the consequences are evident both in individual aspects, which can lead to the development of mental disorders, and in the academic trajectory itself, which can lead to academic dropout. In this sense, in order to better investigate these aspects, this study aims to analyze the perception of university students about their academic experiences, considering sociodemographic data and the dimensions (personal, institutional, interpersonal, career and study) of the Academic Experiences Questionnaire - reduced version (QVA-r) by Almeida, Ferreira and Soares (1999). In addition, it also aims to evaluate the association between perceptions of academic experiences and the mental health conditions of students. This is a quantitative research, which contributes with numerical data and percentages, transversal and observational, as it refers to a time cut of a specific population that experiences a phenomenon that is being observed and investigated without interventions. The target audience of the research is freshmen from three Higher Education Institutions located in the municipality of Ponta Grossa (PR), belonging to courses in the area of Biological Sciences and Health. In all, 419 responses were obtained and the results were analyzed using Descriptive Exploratory Analysis, with calculations of mean and standard deviation. The descriptive analyzes were made using Kruskal Wallis and Anova tests. The results indicate that there is a significant difference in the way participants perceive academic experiences. The means obtained in the dimensions of academic experiences (Personal 2.91; Interpersonal 3.56; Career 3.89; Study 3.15 and Institutional 3.74) do not have high values, with the highest means in the Career and Institutional dimensions and the lowest in the Personal and Study dimensions. Individuals aged 38 or over, married, working and with children, who live with parents or partners, who have a diagnosis of family mental disorder, revealed higher levels of adaptation to academic experiences than younger ones, who live with family members, alone or with colleagues/friends, who do not work, who do not have mental disorders. The possible reasons for the results obtained are involved with the lack of skills and competencies in time management and organization with academic and personal activities. It was possible to investigate the perceptions that university students have about their academic experiences and their dimensions, considering their sociodemographic conditions as well as discussing the probable reasons for having reached the results obtained by evaluating the associations between perceptions and student mental health. Strategies and possible actions are suggested to be developed in Higher Education Institutions such as thinking about emotional regulation strategies and exploring the field of extracurricular activities such as sports and cultural meetings. It is understood that mental health is impaired by the lack of socioeconomic and psychological resources that should be increasingly stimulated by institutional interventions aimed at facilitating adaptation to the academic context. Keywords: University Students; Academic Adaptation; Mental Health; Health