In my master's thesis, I focused on the current state of psychosocial distress of students at the University of Ljubljana, the possibilities they have to solve psychosocial distress within the University of Ljubljana, and the characteristics of their psychosocial distress. In the theoretical part, I presented the developmental period of young people, the emotional and personal development of young people, life in modern society, the problems of young people and important relationships in the lives of young people. Then I focused on psychosocial counselling, school counselling, service counselling and how it works in the education system in Slovenia. Finally, I described how the University of Ljubljana takes care of the mental health of students and described psychosocial counselling for students.
I focused on the topic of psychosocial counselling for students because research shows that individuals experience the most distress during the study period compared to other life stages (Gulliver, Grifiths, & Chrustensen, 2010; Salaheddin and Mason, 2016; Kessler et al., 2005; all in Tadič and Dekleva, 2019; Miheljak et al., 2002; Zupančič, 2009a). Nevertheless, assistance within an educational institution, as provided in kindergarten, primary school and secondary school, is not systematically regulated. In the empirical part of the master's thesis, I researched with quantitative research what psychosocial hardships students of the University of Ljubljana face, where and in what way they face them, what resources they have to solve them within the University of Ljubljana, and the characteristics of their psychosocial distress. The research was conducted based on anonymous survey questionnaires. The sample included 621 students of the University of Ljubljana. The more important findings of the research show that most students face at least one type of psychosocial distress. When they experiencing distress they seek help, mainly from informal sources of help, such as friends and various family members (most often parents). Students rarely seek help within the university. Those who do, seek it primarily from professors, psychosocial counselling, and tutors. One of the more important findings of my master’s thesis is also that students who in the past turned to the school counselling service are now turning to no one or friends and partners when experiencing distress. The professional form of assistance that was available to them in previous forms of education has now been replaced by an informal form of assistance.
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