Psychological and Mental Health Support for Vietnamese University Students in Economics Majors: Approaches and Needs Assessment

The mental health of students in university has become an increasingly pressing concern due to rising academic pressure, career uncertainty, and major life transitions. Identifying students’ psychological support needs requires an understanding of the challenges they face, as well as their expectations regarding support forms, intervention methods, and service providers. This study employed a mixed-methods cross-sectional design, combining large-scale questionnaire surveys (701 respondents) with qualitative interviews to assess the mental health status and psychological support needs of students at economics universities in Vietnam. The findings reveal that students commonly experience negative emotional states, particularly anxiety related to academic workload, financial instability, personal health, and future career orientation. A proportion of students reported depressive symptoms such as persistent sadness, prolonged stress, and physiological disturbances including insomnia and disordered eating. While severe behavioral disorders are uncommon, signs of declining academic motivation, social withdrawal, and weakened interactions with lecturers are evident. Students express a strong demand for mental health support, especially in career guidance, learning strategies, emotional regulation, and interpersonal problem-solving. Individual, professional, confidential counseling services are the most preferred forms of support, highlighting the need for a comprehensive mental health and psychological support system tailored to the context of Vietnamese universities.