Evidence of Mental Health in University Students: A Contribution to Literacy

The data on the mental health of young people, in the current scientific evidence, point to the need for a constant updating of perspectives in relation to the contexts in which it is inserted, aiming at a more targeted intervention and its empowerment. In this context, it was described in the study: "Consumption of psychoactive substances in university students...What reality?" as one of the objectives- Identify the level of psychological health (depression, anxiety, and stress) of students at the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança. A quantitative, descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study was carried out. A (non-probabilistic) sample of 392 students was used. The assessment of the students' psychological health was carried out using the Anxiety, Depression, and Stress Scale (EADS21) by Lovibond and Lovibond, adapted by Pais Ribeiro in 2004. SPSS was used to process the data using descriptive statistics and inferential with a significance level of 95%. As a result, we have that: about 25% of students show above-normal levels of intensity in the depression and stress dimensions, reaching almost one-third in the anxiety dimension. The correlations between the EADS21 dimensions were moderate to strong. There was a statistically significant difference between the respondents: according to sex (p=0,001; Cohen's d=0,344), for the dimension of stress; according to whether or not they practiced physical exercise, for the dimension of stress (p=0,010; Cohen's d=0,280), anxiety (p=0,006; Cohen's d=0,252) and depression (p=0,034; Cohen's d=0,244); according to whether or not they had already started sexual activity, for the depression dimension (p=0,019; Cohen's d=0,287); according to whether or not they consider awareness-raising actions relevant, for the depression dimension (p=0,018; Cohen's d=0,331). We conclude that the results show that the general values are low in each of the mental health dimensions of the EADS21. This implies good experiences of respondents in a university context, in addition to the fact that female students have higher values in all dimensions of the EADS21, as well as those who do not practice physical exercise, those who have not yet started sexual activity, and those who do not consider relevant awareness-raising actions.