Descriptive study on the evolution of psychological and educational counseling at the University of Alicante

Abstract

This study analyses, in a descriptive way, the evolution of the demands for psychological and educational support, which University of Alicante students seek at their university’s counseling service, and the relation of those demands with gender, degree and semester in which the student is enroled, within a sample of 2643 students.

The participants in the study had sought psychological and educational support from the Counseling Services of the University between 1998 and 2008.
The results show a significant increase in the number of psychological and educational demands for support in the analyzed years, with a higher demand for psychological advice.
Differences were observed in the type of demand, according to gender, semester and degree.
Our results show a rise in the number of students requiring not only educational advice but also psychological support in each semester, which emphasizes the importance acquired by this service at the university.