Contribution of stress and trauma to mental disorder symptoms in university students: Brazil-Netherlands transnational study

• Grant number: 25/04655-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 07, 2025
• End date: August 16, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy
• Principal Investigator: Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini Campos
• Grantee: Livia Oliveira dos Santos
• Supervisor: Miranda Olff
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCFAR). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Amsterdam (UvA), Netherlands
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/15519-6 - Self-Reporting Questionnaire: psychometric and tracking study of mental health indicators in university students, BP.IC

Abstract

Objectives: i. verify the most appropriate response scale (dichotomous/5-point Likert scale) for using the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20) in a sample of Brazilian university students, ii. estimate the contribution of stress and trauma (Global Psychotrauma Screen - GPS) to mental disorders symptoms(SRQ) of these students, iii. identify the relationship between indicators of mental disorders and specific symptoms or problems related to trauma with demographic characteristics, and iv. estimate the cross-national invariance (Brazil x Netherlands) of the GPS. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study with non-probabilistic sampling by convenience. For objectives i, ii and iii, the questionnaires will be applied and must be self-completed on paper by Brazilian university students during the first semester of 2025. For objective iv, in addition to the Brazilian sample, data collected in the last year through the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress website with Dutch university students (https://global-psychotrauma.net/gps) will be used. A questionnaire will be used to characterize the samples, the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20) and the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS). The fit of the SRQ and GPS to the samples will be estimated through confirmatory factor analysis with a robust estimator Weighted Least Squares Mean and Variance Adjusted (WLSMV) and the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) indices. The SRQ-20 response scales will be compared by analyzing the curve obtained by the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC). The contribution of stress and trauma to mental disoreder symptoms will be estimated through structural equation analysis. In this model, psychosocial (GPS) and individual characteristics (demographic characteristics) will be considered a priori the independent variables, and common (non-psychotic) disorders (SRQ-20) the dependent variable. The hypothetically causal trajectories (beta) will be estimated and tested using the z test. For decision making, the significance level adopted will be 5%. GPS's transnational invariance (CFI) will be estimated.