Search Results (9)

Background: Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health issues of the 21st century, significantly impacting individuals and healthcare systems worldwide. Within higher education research, academic anxiety is particularly significant, as it encompasses the specific anxieties students face within academic environments, such as exams and public speaking. This study aims to provide a contemporary overview of academic anxiety within Spanish universities by addressing three key questions: (1) How has research on academic anxiety evolved in Spain? (2) What tools have been used to measure academic anxiety? (3) What factors and variables have been analyzed in relation to academic anxiety, and what are the main findings? Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines for study selection, data extraction, and synthesis. The analysis focused on PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases, examining 25 eligible articles published before January 2023. The objective was to evaluate, organize, and synthesize the evidence presented in these articles. Results: The findings revealed that the majority of studies were conducted in the last decade, employing 20 distinct measurement tools and examining more than 40 associated variables. The academic anxieties investigated included various types such as test anxiety, language learning anxiety, math anxiety, public speaking anxiety, and discipline-specific anxieties like dissection or music performance anxiety. Additionally, the studies explored the relationships between these academic anxieties and other variables such as gender and age. Conclusions: The implications of these findings for education and potential avenues for future research are discussed. Full article

This study explored the effectiveness of a virtual music therapy program, based on positive psychotherapy principles, in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-four undergraduate students with partial PTSD were initially assigned to either an experimental group or a control group, with 11 participants in each group by the study’s end. The experimental group underwent 15 video sessions of the therapy program, completing one session per weekday over 3 weeks. The program involved worksheets targeting goals aligned with positive psychology, such as positive affect, life meaning, personal strengths, gratitude, hope, and happiness. The activities included writing music autobiographies, creating and analyzing song lyrics, and exploring various music pieces. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and the Korean Version of Positive Psychological Capital (K-PPC) before, immediately after, and 3 weeks post-program. The experimental group showed significant improvements in stress (F = 5.759, p < 0.05), anxiety (F = 4.790, p < 0.01), depression (F = 5.740, p < 0.01), self-efficacy (F = 3.723, p < 0.05), resilience (F = 4.739, p < 0.05), and the K-PPC total score (F = 3.740, p < 0.05) compared with the control group. These improvements were maintained at the 3-week follow-up. The findings suggest that positive psychology-based virtual music therapy can significantly enhance the mental health of highly stressed college students, especially during challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article

Mental wellness can be related to healthier living, the learning process and working environments for people in the university community. A wide range of mental wellness programmes have been explored to provide students with pleasant and satisfying experiences. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of integrating Zen meditation and music listening on the mindfulness and happiness levels of university music therapy students. A qualitative methodology was used, and data were collected through surveys and semi-structured interviews. To investigate various aspects of data regarding the role of the meditation and music (MM) programme for mindfulness and happiness, this study used thematic analysis within a qualitative research design. The findings of this study suggest that the 8-week Mindfulness Meditation (MM) programme is a potential approach for enhancing mindfulness, happiness and stress management. These results carry broader implications, particularly in terms of supporting mental health resources in higher education. Furthermore, the study contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding the positive impact of combining meditation and music to promote mental well-being. This integrated approach has the potential to strengthen coping strategies and further promote the integration of music and meditation practices in various contexts, including higher education. Full article

Previous mental health studies have shown higher levels of anxiety, stress, and depression symptoms among university music students. In general, some similar findings have been observed for Malaysian music university students. In diagnosing the complications of mental health, there is consensus that it is essential to develop and evaluate a model oriented toward mental health illness prevention and treatment. To date, a suitable pattern for estimating mental health in terms of anxiety, stress, and depression among music university students is lacking. To fill this gap, we collected the necessary data from 691 music and 871 general students who were students for one year. The introduced pattern includes socioeconomic status, fear of COVID-19, nomophobia, sleep quality, loneliness, and mental health. Our data analysis proved that the levels of anxiety, depression, and stress of music students were lower than those of general students. Unlike some previous studies, in this study, the fear of COVID-19 and nomophobia didn’t have the most significant impact on mental health. The most significant impacts were related to sleep quality and loneliness. These findings have the potential to inform health promotion and services in the music education system. Full article

The pandemic of COVID-19 caused significant changes in economies and societies with a major impact on the entire education process. However, these changes did not invalidate a constant effort of adaptation. This cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study used an online questionnaire administered to students from various study cycles at higher education institutions in Portugal, with the aim of exploring the influence of literacy and mental health on the use of mental health promotion strategies during COVID-19 confinement. A total of 329 students from higher education institutions participated in this study, mostly from the age group 18–24 years (n = 272; 82.7%) and female (n = 265, 80.5%). The most mentioned health promotion strategies during this period included studying (n = 170; 51.7%); physical activities (n = 151, 45.9%); social networking (n = 124, 37.7%); cooking activities (n = 120, 36.5%); and listening to music (n = 118, 35.9%). Academic success is self-reported, and it is weakly correlated with the MHI5 (r = 0.103, p = 0.063). Students in the pre-graduate programs studied more during the times of the pandemic and used this activity as a mental-health-promoting strategy with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.033). Although it was difficult to improve health literacy related to COVID-19 in such a short period of time, there was a very strong motivation to access, understand, evaluate, communicate, synthesize, and apply information and knowledge to maintain mental health through self-care using health promotion strategies. Full article

Quality of life and mental health are topics under discussion in the university environment that pose new educational challenges. Public policy in Chile establishes the need to track students who are starting university and who could find themselves at possible academic risk (Law 20. 903). These transition processes experienced by students therefore need to be guided to improve the students’ quality of life. Using a mixed design, the present study analyzes the association between musical sophistication (Ollen, 2006), students’ well-being, and the performance of first-year students training to be music teachers (n = 25). The Ollen Musical Sophistication questionnaire and the Spanish version of the PERMA-profiler, a questionnaire for assessing well-being, were applied. In order to obtain detailed information about learning processes and educational needs, seven interviews were conducted. Results indicate a negative correlation between musical sophistication on the one hand and negative emotions (anxiety and anger) and loneliness on the other. This is reflected in less consistent academic performance, difficulties in identity development, and reduced motivation to face new challenges besides musical learning. We concluded that knowledge and observation of students’ previous musical experience is crucial for understanding and supporting the educational transition process and well-being of student music teachers. Full article

Lack of knowledge regarding, and the stigma associated with, mental disorders have been identified as major obstacles for the promotion of mental health and early intervention. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based intervention program focused on the promotion of mental health literacy (MHL) in young people (“Finding Space for Mental Health”). A sample of 543 students (22 classes), aged between 12 and 14 years old, participated in the study. Each class of students was randomly assigned to the control group (CG; n = 284; 11 classes) or the experimental group (EG; n = 259; 11 classes). MHL was assessed using the Mental Health Literacy questionnaire (MHLq), which is comprised of three dimensions—Knowledge/Stereotypes, First Aid Skills and Help Seeking, and Self-Help Strategies. The scores on these dimensions can also be combined to give an overall or total score. Participants from the EG attended the MHL promotion program (two sessions, 90 min each) delivered at one-week intervals. Sessions followed an interactive methodology, using group dynamics, music, and videos adapted to the target group. All participants responded to the MHLq at three points in time: pre-intervention assessment (one week prior to the intervention), post-intervention assessment (one week after the intervention) and follow-up assessment (six months after the intervention). The intervention effectiveness and the differential impact of sociodemographic variables on the effectiveness of the program were studied using a Generalized Estimation Equation (GEE). Results revealed that participants from the EG demonstrated, on average, significantly higher improvement in MHL from pre-intervention to follow-up when compared to participants from the CG. Different sociodemographic variables affected the effectiveness of the program on distinct dimensions of the MHLq. Overall, “Finding Space for Mental Health” showed efficacy as a short-term promotion program for improving MHL in schools. Full article

Sleep deficiency is a significant issue across higher education campuses and has a detrimental effect on students’ academic achievement, physical and mental health, and overall wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to carry out a campus-wide survey determining students’ self-reported sleep patterns, sources of advice for sleep problems, current sleep promoting practices, and preferred mechanisms to receive new information assisting with sleep problems. An anonymous electronic survey was distributed in February 2016 to all levels of students at the University of Alberta in the Western region of Canada. Descriptive data analysis was carried out with SPSS (v23). There were 1294 students (78.0% undergraduates; 87.5% living off-campus, 77.5% female) who participated in the survey. Sleeping less than 6.5 h a night was reported by 30.5% of participants; 66.5% stated they had insufficient sleep; 80.6% had not sought help. The three most frequent behaviours to aid sleep were reading a book, listening to music, and adjusting the heat. Although sleep problems were widely reported, students seldom sought help for this. The survey revealed that students already practice several strategies (listening to music, for example) that lend themselves to serving as a foundation for a strength-based cross-campus social marketing campaign of sleep promoting strategies. Full article

Introduction: The subject of chronic stress and ways of dealing with it are very broad. The aim of this study was to analyze stress and anxiety and their influence on suicidal thinking among medical students. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the years 2014 to 2015 in Poland, at the Medical University—Nicolaus Copernicus University, Collegium Medicum. The objective of this study was to assess chronic stress and suicidal thinking among students and how students cope with this huge problem. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were conducted to detect differences. Results: Analyses showed that students’ life is full of stressors. Students toward the end of their education cope better with stress than students starting their university studies. Chronic stress has a strong impact on mental health and suicidal thinking among students. Conclusions: The results of the study confirmed that chronic stress and anxiety have a negative influence on mental health and also confirm a relation to suicidal thinking in medical students. Students cope with stress by listening to music, talking to relatives or people close to them, resting or engaging in sports, with cycling, running and swimming being the most common methods used to affect suicidal thinking. Full article