The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to mental distress among university and college students. This master's thesis explores the role of demographic characteristics, psychological status, schooling characteristics, and life circumstances during the COVID-19 epidemic in explaining Slovenian university students' mental health problems and seeking help for them. I conducted a secondary data analysis based on the National Institute of Public Health research, which took place in February and March 2021. The participating students (n = 5234) were full-time enrolled in public and concessionary independent higher education institutions of the Republic of Slovenia. They completed a questionnaire that included Oslo Social Support Scale (OSSS-3), The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (GAD-7), and some other relevant questions. I analyzed the data using multiple linear regression and hypothesis testing for differences. The results show that factors such as gender, age, psychological status, social support, and perceived impact of the COVID-19 contribute to the experience of anxiety among Slovenian students. Experiencing depression is additionally predicted by the year of study. Help-seeking was predicted by gender, psychological status, social support, and perceived impact of the COVID-19. I found differences in the experience of depression, anxiety, and help-seeking among students. Higher levels of depression and anxiety were reported by female students, first-year students (enrolled for the first time), students with prior mental health disorders, and students with lower social support levels. Female students and all students with lower social support levels reported more frequent help-seeking behaviors. The results of the master's thesis provide an insight into the mental state of the student population in the context of the measures placed at the end of the second COVID-19 epidemic wave in Slovenia. The findings can help identify vulnerable groups within the student population and design targeted interventions for students during crisis such as epidemics.
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