The growing presence of symptoms of alterations in the mental health of university students is a concern that has spread around the world and in whose research a Uandes academic has actively participated.
Javier Mella, a researcher from the School of Education, Jorge Gaeterecently published two scientific articles in international indexed journals addressing different aspects of mental health in university students.
The first study, entitled Mental disorders & self-injurious thoughts and behaviors predict high risk of role impairment among university studentswas published in the Journal of Affective Disorders and is part of the international initiative World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS).
The research analyzed data from nearly 44,000 first-year students at 60 universities in ten countries and showed that more than a quarter have significant impairment in their academic and daily functioning associated with emotional problems.. The results indicate that mental disorders and self-injurious behaviors concentrate the highest risk of this type of deterioration, which allows identifying priority groups for preventive actions.
The second article, Acceptability and feasibility of Reframe-IT+U for suicidal ideation in university students. was published in the magazine Pilot and Feasibility Studies. The paper presents the protocol of a pilot study that evaluates the acceptability and feasibility of a preventive intervention based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, adapted to the Chilean university context. The program combines face-to-face sessions and digital components, and seeks to reduce suicidal ideation in students with mild to moderate risk, as well as to generate evidence for a future larger scale clinical trial.