Experiences of Care and Psychological Distress: The Sense of Belonging among University Students

• Grant number: 25/13804-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2025
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Psychological Treatment and Prevention
• Principal Investigator: Kelly Cristina Brandão da Silva
• Grantee: Kelly Cristina Brandão da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/17975-6 - Clinical-political diagnosis of psychological distress in university students: an interface between Education and Psychoanalysis, AP.R

Abstract

This Scientific Initiation project is part of a broader research study funded by FAPESP (Grant No. 2023/17975-6), which aims to develop a clinical-political diagnosis of the psychological distress experienced by undergraduate students at Unicamp. Notably, the project is part of an international multicenter research initiative. Two Scientific Initiation scholarships are planned.The first aims to investigate, through quantitative analysis of data already collected via an online questionnaire, how sociodemographic factors and academic experiences are associated with university students' psychological suffering. The fellow will be responsible for processing, organizing, and analyzing the data using open-source software (Jamovi and JASP), with support from the Biostatistics Service of the School of Medical Sciences at Unicamp. The project also includes an international stage, supported by the FAPESP Research Internship Abroad (BEPE) scholarship, to be conducted at one of the partner institutions of the multicenter research - Université Paris 8 Saint-Denis (France) or FLACSO (Argentina). This experience will deepen the fellow's methodological knowledge, particularly in comparative quantitative analyses, and will foster a broader understanding of the intersections between mental health, belonging, and social inequalities in the university context from an international perspective.The second Scientific Initiation scholarship aims to train a fellow in a qualitative research-intervention approach, drawing on theoretical frameworks from Psychoanalysis, Social Psychology, and Education. Based on the analysis of narratives produced in focus groups with undergraduate students at Unicamp, the project seeks to investigate how these students experience practices of care and psychological suffering within the university setting, considering social markers of race, class, gender, and sexuality, in articulation with critical national and international perspectives. The fellow will be involved in all stages of the research - from organizing and documenting the focus groups to transcribing, analyzing the data, and constructing analytical categories. This proposal also includes an international stage, through the BEPE/FAPESP scholarship, to be carried out at one of the partner institutions of the multicenter study. This experience will allow for the deepening of both theoretical and methodological training, enhancing the fellow's scientific development. (AU)