ANSIEDADE NA UNIVERSIDADE: o peso de uma crise no desempenho acadêmico

Abstract

Anxiety is a physiological reaction capable of motivating people to achieve their goals, but in excess it can contribute in a negative way, limiting, hindering, or even making it impossible for the individual to face day-to-day situations. It is commonly characterized by concentration difficulties, sleep disorders, fatigue, and even musculoskeletal pains. Transporting this condition to the academic environment, the objective of this study was to investigate whether the students enrolled in the Journalism course from the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th periods at Grupo Unis have pathological anxiety disorder, and if so, whether those affected have academic performance equivalent or inferior to those university students who do not have the pathology.To this end, the researchers carried out a field research where a questionnaire was applied to evaluate questions of academic and behavioral performance of students who answered the survey saying they were affected by the disease in relation to those who said they were not so that a comparison could be drawn.The questionnaire was sent by a Google form messenger application to all students of the above mentioned periods, regularly enrolled in the course. Of the 29 students regularly enrolled in the course, 23 students responded. The analysis of the results indicated that 43.5% of the respondents said they have pathological anxiety. 21.7% said they need or have needed psychological support to treat anxiety; 39.1% believe they need or have needed to seek specialized help but have never sought it and 34.8% of the students said they have already stopped going to class when having an anxiety crisis.Comparing the academic performance of students who claim to have the pathology with those who claim not to have it, the research showed that in the Journalism course of Grupo Unis the academic performance of those who suffer from the pathology is lower than that of classmates who do not have pathological anxiety.After data analysis and consolidation, two students who have pathological anxiety and are enrolled in the course and three professionals with clinical background to discuss the subject gave an audiovisual narrative interview on pathological anxiety in the university environment. These interviews constituted a journalistic TV presented to the Board of the Social Communication Course in Journalism at the Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas as a Final Course Assignment to obtain the title of Bachelor in Journalism.