Lost in the uncontrolled, with low self-esteem and more difficult, irritated, sad. Health professionals “should stop to think” when they decide to pass more medication, warns new study, which points in part to the behavior of teachers.
There are 40% of higher education students who consume psychotropic and one in ten takes amphetamines or stimulants, according to a Study with over 2,300 students which shows high levels of burnout and lack of psychological support.
The study “Healthy Learning Ecosystems in Higher Education Institutions in Portugal”, which Lusa had access to and is coordinated by psychologist Tânia Gaspar, from the Lusophone University, and has already done several investigations in the area of youth behavior, concludes that the priority intervention dimensions are those related to well-being and mental health.
The work involved 2,339 students between 17 and 35 years and was prepared by the Observatory of Healthy Learning Environments and Youth Participation. Analyzed several dimensions associated with the culture of the organization and the environments where students move in the academic context.
O psychosocial risk Mental health related was what presented higher levels, with 61.6% of students to confess that last month they felt physically exhausted46.2% to say that they felt angry e 41,6% sad.
Almost two out of three (65.5%) unable to control things that are important in your life, 61.5% has lack of confidence in your ability to deal with your problems and more than half (59.4%) feels that difficulties accumulated to the point of not being able to overcome them.
Lack support, not medication
Speaking to Lusa, the study coordinator, Tânia Gaspar, said that this investigation showed that 40% of academic students take psychotropic – Value aligned with European data – and stressed, “This is a failure of the National Health Service, because if we worked more in prevention and we had faster answers, they didn’t need to take medication.”
On the other hand, he said that health professionals should “stop to think” when they decide to pass more medication: “they pass psychotropic when the person gets there and says he’s a little anxious about the exams, or that he can’t sleep”.
“The effect of this medication in a kid that is more depressed is dangerous,” warned the expert, insisting: “In children and young people, medication is not innocuous at all. There has to be weight, account and measure. If it has to be, yes, but as much as possible and with the best parallel support possible. ”
Teachers harass and insult
The investigation showed that more than one in 10 (13%) said it was the subject of threats or other form of abuse Physical or psychological (insults, sexual harassment), speak of complaints of racism, xenophobia, gender discrimination and exclusion of international students and call for more ethnic and cultural diversity in the faculty.
Teachers want “greater empathy, cultural sensitivity and understanding”, complain of “bullying, sarcasm, relegation and favoritism” in classes and point out “Lack of emotional intelligence” of some teachers, as well as the absence of mental health education.
They speak of the need for resources and adaptations for students with special needs, criticize the lack of sensitivity in higher education institutions for different rhythms and learning styles.
“They took advantage of this space to really say things that are happening in universities,” he told Lusa Tânia Gaspar, explaining: “Teachers are not openly, but what they do is that often, often, devalue the students, enjoy them (…), There is an attitude sometimes of haughtiness in relation to students, who nowadays do not admit ”.
In this sense, he said that “there has to be a deep job with the teachers”, that “they are desperate“:“ We were used to having the kids cunning in the past. (…) Nowadays, suddenly they do not shut up and are very claiming, they are more demanding. ”
“Some teachers have not yet exceeded that issue of doctoral theoretical classes and therefore there is a great distance here for students,” he added.
Tânia Gaspar considered that “relationships in society are much more horizontal” and “teachers have to know how to deal” with this situation.
Greater neurodiversity among students
On the other hand, he recalled, there more and more students with neurodiversitythat is, with special needs, diagnosed or not, (…) and there are also more students without any diagnosis, but they actually have emotional changes and behavior (..) and teachers do not realize what is happening ”.
Prepared by the Observatory of Healthy Learning Environments and Youth Participation, which studies and characterizes higher education institutions as healthy learning environments, the study concluded that students are unmotivated, complain of monotonous education methods and call for changes.
Researchers say the results point to the need to think of “creative ways” of actively involving students in the institution’s culture and life.
