Psychosocial stress, depressive signs, resilience and coping strategies in students, teachers and employees of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

• Grant number: 19/03117-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2019
• End date: July 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Preventive Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Dora Maria Grassi-Kassisse
• Grantee: Heloísa Monteiro do Amaral Prado
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The pressure and competitiveness of modern life are factors that lead people to face their routines in a way that is increasingly detrimental to their biological rhythms. Psychosocial stress is one of the most damaging factors to mental health today and can trigger mental changes such as depression, physical changes such as cardiovascular and gastric problems, and hormonal changes such as increased release of cortisol. Therefore, the way that the day to day adversities are faced and overcome is extremely important to have a better mental health and a healthier life in society. Thereby, this project aims to investigate psychosocial stress, depressive signs, resilience and coping strategies in the population that is actively experiencing the University of Campinas (Unicamp) routine. Questionnaires referring to each investigated topic will be applied in volunteers of this population. This project will identify the strategies used by this population to cope the pressures generated by the university environment and how it is dealing with the daily stress in this environment. In addition, the identification of high values of psychosocial stress in this population will enable identification of possible signs of depression. Resilience will also be measured by instruments, and it may be possible to verify this behavior in different courses, shifts, or administrative sectors. The future results will show the strategies used to address these stressors, enabling the creation of preventive actions and awareness actions for a healthier routine for this population, with the support of existing structures in Unicamp: SAPPE, an organ destined only to regular undergraduate and graduate students, and CECOM, destined to the entire Unicamp community.