Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126, Milan, Italy.
BMC Psychol. 2022 Feb 22;10(1):35. doi: 10.1186/s40359-022-00742-7.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased online counselling interventions, including those aimed at university students. The principal aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the online counselling intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic, also with regards to the effectiveness of the face-to-face intervention.
34 students (Mean age = 23.74; Female = 27) who requested online university counselling during COVID-19 have been compared with 81 (Mean age = 22.8; Female = 60) students who requested university face-to-face counselling before the pandemic. The psychopathological problems were assessed with the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised, attachment styles with the Attachment Style Questionnaire, adverse childhood experiences with Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, and life satisfaction with the Life Satisfaction Scale.
At the pre-intervention phase, psychological distress was similar in both groups with no differences in the General Severity Index of the SCL-90 R, and there were no significant differences for secure/insecure attachment, adverse childhood experiences, and life satisfaction. The online counselling intervention during the pandemic was effective in reducing psychological distress scales as depression (p = .008), obsessive-compulsive (p = .008), interpersonal sensitivity (p = .005), and anxiety (p = .011), and in the total scale of the SCL-90 R (p = .017). The face-to-face counselling intervention was effective in reducing psychological distress in all subscales and in the total scale of the SCL-90 R (p = .000) and in increasing the level of life satisfaction (p = .023). Attachment style did not moderate the effectiveness of the online and face-to-face interventions.
Students seeking counselling, both before and during the pandemic, show similar levels of psychological distress. The online counselling intervention was almost as effective as face-to-face counselling intervention with respect to psychological distress; it was not effective in increasing life satisfaction.
新冠疫情大流行增加了在线咨询干预，包括针对大学生的干预。本研究的主要目的是评估新冠疫情期间在线咨询干预的效果，同时也评估面对面咨询干预的效果。
34 名（平均年龄 23.74 岁；女性 27 名）在新冠疫情期间请求在线大学咨询的学生与 81 名（平均年龄 22.8 岁；女性 60 名）在疫情前请求大学面对面咨询的学生进行了比较。使用症状清单 90 修订版评估心理病理问题，使用依恋风格问卷评估依恋风格，使用不良童年经历问卷评估不良童年经历，使用生活满意度量表评估生活满意度。
在干预前阶段，两组的心理困扰相似，SCL-90 R 的一般严重指数没有差异，安全/不安全依恋、不良童年经历和生活满意度也没有显著差异。疫情期间的在线咨询干预有效降低了心理困扰量表中的抑郁（p=0.008）、强迫（p=0.008）、人际敏感（p=0.005）和焦虑（p=0.011），以及 SCL-90 R 的总量表（p=0.017）。面对面咨询干预在所有子量表和 SCL-90 R 的总量表（p=0.000）中都有效降低了心理困扰，并增加了生活满意度（p=0.023）。依恋风格并没有调节在线和面对面干预的效果。
在疫情之前和期间寻求咨询的学生表现出相似水平的心理困扰。在线咨询干预在心理困扰方面几乎与面对面咨询干预同样有效，但在增加生活满意度方面没有效果。
