Mental Health and Social Skills among First-Year Psychology Students in Public and Private Universities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/Keywords:
anxiety, depression, social skills, university students, higher education institutions, instituciones de educación superiorAbstract
University students’ mental health is influenced by multiple factors, including institutional characteristics and student profiles. This study aimed to characterize and compare psychology students from two types of institutions (46 from a private university and 37 from a public university) in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, mental health (depression and anxiety), and social skills repertoire. Students from the private institution presented higher levels of anxiety and interpersonal difficulties, whereas no significant differences in depression were observed between groups. Mental health problems were associated with being female, a more limited social skills repertoire, and greater interpersonal difficulties. These findings contribute to the development of public policies in both educational and social domains, aiming to promote mental health and enhance students’ career adaptability in an increasingly dynamic and uncertain context.
Downloads
References
Ahmed, I., Hazell, C. M., Edwards, B., Glazebrook, C., & Davies, E. B. (2023). A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies exploring prevalence of non-specific anxiety in undergraduate university students. BMC Psychiatry, 23(1), 240. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-04645-8
Akhtar, P., Ma, L., Waqas, A., Naveed, S., Li, Y., Rahman, A., & Wang, Y. (2020). Prevalence of depression among university students in low and middle-income countries (LMICs): A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274, 911-919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.03.183
Ariño, D. O., & Bardagi, M. P. (2018). Relations Between Academic Factors and Mental Health of University Students. Psicologia em Pesquisa, 12(3), 44-52. https://doi.org/10.24879/2018001200300544
Bolsoni-Silva, A. T., & Loureiro, S. R. (2016). O impacto das habilidades sociais para a depressão em estudantes universitários. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 32(4), e324212. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e324212
Bolsoni-Silva, A., & Loureiro, S. (2015). QHC: Questionário de avaliação de habilidades sociais, comportamentos e contextos para universitários. Hogrefe CETEPP.
Bolsoni-Silva, A. T., & Carrara, K. (2010). Habilidades sociais e análise do comportamento: compatibilidades e dissensões conceitual-metodológicas. Psicologia em Revista, 16(2), 330-350. https://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1677-11682010000200007
Lei No. 14.914, de 3 de julho de 2024. (2024, 4 de julho). Institui a Política Nacional de Assistência Estudantil (PNAES). Diário Oficial da União, seção 1, p. 5. https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/lei-n-14.914-de-3-de-julho-de-2024-569928638
Braun, K. C. R., Marcilio, F. C. P., & Dias, A. C. G. (2024). Transição para o ensino superior: Uma revisão sistemática. Estudos e Pesquisas em Psicologia, 24, e61266. https://doi.org/10.12957/epp.2024.61266
Campos, J. R., Del Prette, Z. A. P., & Del Prette, A. (2018). Relações entre depressão, habilidades sociais, sexo e nível socioeconômico em grandes amostras de adolescentes. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 34, e3446. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e3446
Cardoso, R. P., Castro, A. P., Frio, G. S., & Fochezatto, A. (2022). Migração estudantil: Uma análise do impacto da política de cotas e do Programa Universidade para Todos. In F. C. Macedo, A. Monteiro, Neto, & D. J. Vieira. (Orgs.), Universidade e território: Ensino superior e desenvolvimento regional no Brasil do século XXI (pp. 429-459). Ipea.
Conselho Federal de Psicologia (2022). CensoPsi 2022: CFP divulga os resultados da maior pesquisa sobre o exercício profissional da Psicologia brasileira. https://site.cfp.org.br/censopsi-2022-cfp-divulga-os-resultados-da-maior-pesquisa-sobre-o-exercicio-profissional-da-psicologia-brasileira/
Cunha, J. A. (2001). Manual da versão em português das Escalas Beck. Casa do Psicólogo.
Del Prette, Z. A. P., & Del Prette, A. (2001). Inventário de habilidades sociais (IHS-Del-Prette): Manual de aplicação, apuração e interpretação. Casa do Psicólogo.
Del Prette, Z. A., & Del Prette, A. (2009). Psicologia das habilidades sociais: Terapia, educação e trabalho. Vozes.
Demenech, L. M., Oliveira, A. T., Neiva-Silva, L., & Dumith, S. C. (2021). Prevalence of anxiety, depression and suicidal behaviors among Brazilian undergraduate students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 282, 147-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.108
Gao, W., Ping, S., & Liu, X. (2020). Gender differences in depression, anxiety, and stress among college students: A longitudinal study from China. Journal of Affective Disorders, 263, 292-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.121
Graner, K. M., & Cerqueira, A. T. A. R. (2019). Revisão integrativa: Sofrimento psíquico em estudantes universitários e fatores associados. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 24(4), 1327-1346. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232018244.09692017
Gul, R., Batool, S., Khan, S. I., & Jabeen, F. (2023). The effects of social skills on academic competencies among undergraduate students. Russian Law Journal, 11(3s), 308-315. https://doi.org/10.52783/rlj.v11i3s.777
Harvard Medical School. (2023). The world mental health international college student (WMH-ICS) initiative. https://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/wmh/college_student_survey.php
Hunsu, N. J., Oje, A. V., Tanner-Smith, E. E., & Adesope, O. (2023). Relationships between risk factors, protective factors and achievement outcomes in academic resilience research: A metal-analytic review. Educational Research Review, 41, 100548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023
Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira. (2022). Censo da educação superior 2022. Notas estatísticas. https://abmes.org.br/arquivos/documentos/siteABMES-notas_estatisticas_censo_escolar_2022.pdf
Instituto do Sindicado das Mantenedoras do Ensino Superior. (2024). Mapa do ensino superior no Brasil (14a ed.).
Islam, S., Akter, R., Sikder, T., & Griffiths, M. D. (2022). Prevalence and factors associated with depression and anxiety among first-year university students in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 1289-1302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00242-y
Jalnapurkar, I., Allen, M., & Pigott, T. (2018). Sex differences in anxiety disorders: A review. HSOA Journal of Psychiatry, Depression, and Anxiety, 4, 012. https://doi.org/10.24966/PDA-0150/100011
Januario, R. G., Nelson, A. V. M., & Medeiros, M. F. M. (2024). Mapeamento das ações de assistência estudantil realizadas pelas universidades federais na gestão do PNAES. Meta: Avaliação, 16(52), 679-705. https://doi.org/10.22347/2175-2753v16i52.4436
Kumar, B., Shah, M. A. A., Kumari, R., Kumar, A., Kumar, J., & Tahir, A. (2019). Depression, anxiety, and stress among final-year medical students. Cureus, 11(3), e4257. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.4257
Lekshmy, S. N., Hukkeri, S. V., Manju Priya, R., & Fathima, Y. (2025). Emotional intelligence through soft skills for employability. Apex Journal of Business and Management, 4(1), 41-48. https://nepjol.info/index.php/ajbm/article/view/76941
Maltoni, J., Palma, P. C., & Neufeld, C. B. (2019). Sintomas ansiosos e depressivos em universitários brasileiros. Psico, 50(1), e29213. https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2019.1.29213
Marques, E. M. I., Oliveira, G. L., & Santos, F. R. (2026). Saúde mental de universitários: Um levantamento com estudantes da área de saúde da rede pública e privada. Revista Internacional de Educação Superior, 12, e026042. https://doi.org/10.20396/riesup.v12i00.8678924
Mason, A., Rapsey, C., Sampson, N., Lee, S., Albor, Y., Al-Hadi, A. N., Alonso, J., Al-Saud, N., Altwaijri, Y., Andersson, C., Atwoli, L., Auerbach, R. P., Ayuya, C., Báez-Mansur, P. M., Ballester, L., Bantjes, J., Baumeister, H., Bendtsen, M., Benjet, C., … WMH-ICS Collaborators. (2025). Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) Initiative. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 183, 225-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016
Mastrokoukou, S., Lin, S., Longobardi, C., Berchiatti, M., & Bozzato, P. (2024). Resilience and psychological distress in the transition to university: The mediating role of emotion regulation. Current Psychology, 43, 23675-23685. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06138-7
Mattos, L., & Rocha, C. (2023, 11 de março). Procura por curso de Psicologia nas faculdades explode no Brasil. Folha de São Paulo. https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/educacao/2023/03/procura-por-curso-de-psicologia-nas-faculdades-explode-no-brasil.shtml
Mohammadi, S., Seyedmirzaei, H., Salehi, M. A., Jahanshahi, A., Zakavi, S. S., Dehghani Firouzabadi, F., & Yousem, D. M. (2023). Brain-based sex differences in depression: A systematic review of neuroimaging studies. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 17(5), 541-569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-023-00772-8
Naidoo, P., & Oosthuizen, M. (2024). Self-compassion as a mechanism to facilitate the adjustment of first-year students to university environment. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 9, 347-366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-023-00129-y
Quinelato, R. (2019, 20 de novembro). FAMERP 2020: Medicina terá 206 candidatos por vaga. Blog do Vestibular e Notícias. https://www.blogdovestibular.com/vestibular-2020/famerp-medicina.html
Quispe-Quispe, Y. C. (2022). Social skills and academic performance in educational institutions of High Andean Puno -Peru in 2020. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6 (8), 1574-1583. https://journalppw.com/index.php/jpsp/article/view/9991/6495
Sahão, F. T., & Kienen, N. (2021). Adaptação e saúde mental do estudante universitário: Revisão sistemática da literatura. Psicologia Escolar e Educacional, 25, e224238. https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-35392021224238
Segrin, C. (2019). Indirect effects of social skills on health through stress and loneliness. Health Communication, 34(1), 118-124. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1384434
Soares, A. B., Poubel, L. N., & Santos Mello, T. V. (2009). Habilidades sociais e adaptação acadêmica: Um estudo comparativo em instituições de ensino público e privado. Aletheia, (30), 213-227. https://pepsic.bvsalud.org/pdf/aletheia/n30/n30a17.pdf
Sheldon, E., Simmonds-Buckley, M., Bone, C., Mascarenhas, T., Chan, N., Wincott, M., Gleeson, H., Sow, K., Hind, D., & Barkham, M. (2021). Prevalence and risk factors for mental health problems in university undergraduate students: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 287, 282-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.03.054
Yamamoto, O. H., Falcão, J. T. R., & Seixas, P. S. (2011). Quem é o estudante de psicologia do Brasil? Avaliação Psicológica, 10(3), 209-232. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5115956
Zhang, X., & Yang, L. (2020). The effects of employment on undergraduate student academic performance [Paper presentation]. 2020 ASEE North Central Section conference, Morgantown, WV, United States. https://peer.asee.org/the-effects-of-employment-on-undergraduate-student-academic-performance
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Regarding the availability of contents, Paideia adopts the Creative Commons License, CC-BY. With this licence anyone is allowed to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, as well as to remix, transform, and create from the material for any purpose, even commercial, giving the proper copyright credits to the journal, providing a link to the licence and indicating if changes have been made.
Partial reproduction of other publications
Quotations of more than 500 words, reproductions of one or more figures, tables or other illustrations must have written permission from the copyright holder of the original work for the reproduction specified in the Paidéia journal. Permission should be addressed to the author of the submitted manuscript. Secondarily obtained rights will not be transferred under any circumstance.
