Responding to the COVID‐19 public health emergency: The usefulness of an online brief psychological intervention with Italian university students. Issue 5 (29th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cerutti, Rita; Spensieri, Valentina; Amendola, Simone; Biuso, Giuseppe Stefano; Renzi, Alessia; Tambelli, Renata
• Other Names: McIntosh Constance guestEditor.; Stone Glenn guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Psychology in the schools. Volume 60:Issue 5(2023)
• Page Start: 1499
• Page End: 1513
• Publication Date: 2022-08-29
• Subjects: brief psychodynamically oriented intervention -- COVID‐19 -- university students; Educational psychology -- Periodicals; Psychopédagogie -- Périodiques; 370.15
• DOI: 10.1002/pits.22785
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0033-3085

Abstract

Abstract: The COVID‐19 pandemic has brought about new stressors on university students, with a negative impact on their mental health and well‐being. The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of a brief psychodynamically oriented intervention on general functioning by investigating changes in symptoms of depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and burnout. The sample was comprised of 67 university students (22.4% males), with a mean age of 23.27 (standard deviation (SD) = 3.27), who asked for psychological help at a psychological university service. Pre‐ and posttreatment data showed a significant improvement in general functioning and symptom reduction due to the psychological intervention. The mean change was very high for depression ( d = 1.11) and high for general functioning ( d = 0.70) and anxiety ( d = 0.69). Our findings showed the importance of considering university students a vulnerable population that requires specific services within the university context and underlined the fact that mental‐health‐promotion policies should be extensively implemented. Practitioner points: University students showed improvements in general functioning, symptoms of depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and burnout, after a brief psychodynamically oriented intervention during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Sex and age were not associated with changes in psychological symptoms. The mean change was very high for depression, high for general functioning and anxiety, and low to moderate for hopelessness and burnout.