Motivations for requesting counselling before and during the COVID-19 pandemic of Italian university students

Titolo Rivista PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Autori/Curatori Chiara Petrocchi, Gaetano Maria Sciabica, Roberto Baiocco, Anna Maria Speranza, Silvia Andreassi, Mara Morelli, Silvia Cerolini, Alexandro Fortunato, Fiorenzo Laghi
Anno di pubblicazione 2026 Fascicolo 2026/1
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 23 P. 100-122 Dimensione file 193 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2026-001007
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Several studies have shown how the impact of the pandemic and restriction measures have negatively affected the mental health of university students. The effects of the restrictions have led to an increase in students’ requests to access college counselling, driven by the need to manage their difficulties. The aim of this study was to investigate how students’ motivations for accessing university counseling changed between the pre-lockdown period (TIME-A) and the lockdown period (TIME-B), also assessing differences dictated by gender and membership in different faculties. Through analyzing the access motivations of a sample of university students at an Italian institution, significant differences emerged between two time periods. Moreover, significant differences were observed concerning gender and affiliation with distinct disciplinary fields. This work helps shed light on the long-term effects of the pandemic on college students’ mental health, suggesting the need to implement strategies to monitor college students’ mental health that take into account their needs and context.

Diversi studi hanno dimostrato come l’impatto della pandemia e delle misure restrittive abbia influenzato negativamente la salute mentale degli studenti universitari. Gli effetti delle restrizioni hanno portato a un aumento delle richieste degli studenti di accesso al servizio di counseling universitario, motivato dalla necessità di gestire le proprie difficoltà. L’obiettivo di questo studio è quello di investigare come le motivazioni di accesso ai servizi di counseling universitari degli studenti siano cambiate tra il periodo pre-lockdown (TIME-A) e il periodo del lockdown e post (TIME-B), valutando anche le possibili differenze determinate dal genere e dalla facoltà frequentata. Analizzando le motivazioni di accesso in un campione di studenti universitari presso un’istituzione italiana, sono emerse differenze significative tra i due periodi temporali. Inoltre, sono state osservate differenze significative riguardanti il genere e l’appartenenza a campi disciplinari distinti. Questo lavoro contribuisce a far luce sugli effetti a lungo termine della pandemia sulla salute mentale degli studenti universitari, suggerendo la necessità di implementare strategie per monitorare la salute mentale degli studenti universitari che tengano conto delle loro esigenze e del contesto.

Parole chiave:COVID-19, counselling psicologico, counselling terapeutico, motivazione, studenti universitari

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Chiara Petrocchi, Gaetano Maria Sciabica, Roberto Baiocco, Anna Maria Speranza, Silvia Andreassi, Mara Morelli, Silvia Cerolini, Alexandro Fortunato, Fiorenzo Laghi, Motivations for requesting counselling before and during the COVID-19 pandemic of Italian university students in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 1/2026, pp 100-122, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2026-001007