Background: University students confront psychological difficulties that can negativelyinfluence their academic performance. The present study aimed to assess several areasof adaptive and maladaptive psychological functioning among university students whorequest counseling services.Method: One hundred eighty-four young female students seeking professionalpsychological help (Counseling seekers) and 185 young female students who havenever asked for psychological help (Non-counseling seekers) were asked to completethe Adult Self-Report (ASR) to evaluate both their internalizing and externalizingproblems through DSM-oriented scales as well as their adaptive functioning.Results: ANOVA results indicated worse psychological functioning for the studentswho sought counseling. They reported lower score in ASR Adaptive FunctioningScales (i.e., friends, jobs, family, education), and higher scores in DSM-oriented scales(i.e., Depressive, Anxiety, Somatic, Avoidant Personality, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivitysymptoms) than the students who never asked psychological help. Furthermore,discriminant analysis successfully discriminated between the two groups of studentson the basis of the ASR’s adaptive and DSM-oriented scales.Conclusion: The study findings could be useful to guide university counseling servicesin their screening activities as well as useful for clinical practice.
(Mal)Adaptive Psychological Functioning of Students Utilizing University Counseling Services
PATRIZI, NAZARENA;
2017-01-01
Abstract
Background: University students confront psychological difficulties that can negativelyinfluence their academic performance. The present study aimed to assess several areasof adaptive and maladaptive psychological functioning among university students whorequest counseling services.Method: One hundred eighty-four young female students seeking professionalpsychological help (Counseling seekers) and 185 young female students who havenever asked for psychological help (Non-counseling seekers) were asked to completethe Adult Self-Report (ASR) to evaluate both their internalizing and externalizingproblems through DSM-oriented scales as well as their adaptive functioning.Results: ANOVA results indicated worse psychological functioning for the studentswho sought counseling. They reported lower score in ASR Adaptive FunctioningScales (i.e., friends, jobs, family, education), and higher scores in DSM-oriented scales(i.e., Depressive, Anxiety, Somatic, Avoidant Personality, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivitysymptoms) than the students who never asked psychological help. Furthermore,discriminant analysis successfully discriminated between the two groups of studentson the basis of the ASR’s adaptive and DSM-oriented scales.Conclusion: The study findings could be useful to guide university counseling servicesin their screening activities as well as useful for clinical practice.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
