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The paper concerns a longitudinal empirical study aiming to establish the relation between certain factors that facilitate (or sometimes hinder) academic achievement such as motivation to study, the cognitive strategies employed and the levels of wellness or distress expressed by indicators like anxiety and depression. It thus aimed to identify the role of these factors on the risk of student drop-out. The study was carried out on a sample of 68 self-selected students enrolled in various degree courses at “Roma Tre” University, who had fully completed the three consecutive surveys geared to investigating their academic experience over a one-year period. The measurement tools used assessed: a) “drop-out intentions” (Hardre & Reeve Scale, 2003); b) “wellness/distress levels”, (Adult Self-Report ASR; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2003); c) cognitive/study strategies (self-regulated knowledge; Manganelli, Alivernini, Mallia & Biasi, 2015); d) motivational aspects (Academic Motivation Scale AMS, validated in Italy by Alivernini and Lucidi (2008). The results show how that the drop-out risk is linked to high levels of depression or distress, poor competence in cognitive strategies adopted, and high levels of “Amotivation” and “External Motivation”. On the basis of the above empirical evidence we propose starting up specific ongoing actions within the university guidance services in order to simultaneously improve wellbeing through emotional support, redefine decisions in the study path in line with personal motivation, and develop adequate cognitive strategies to devise a functional study method.

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The main aim of the present study concerns the analysis of the evolution of psychological distress during university counselling treatment, taking into account the initial mental health conditions of the students involved by means of standardized clinical measures. During a preliminary interview, we collected socio-demographic information, academic problems and health conditions of 110 university students who had requested psychological counselling. We applied the MMPI-2 questionnaire prior to the treatment, and we detected the evolution of distress by administering the OQ-45 scale at pre-treatment, post-treatment and 3-months follow-up. Results indicate that all OQ-45 dimensions register a statistically significative reduction during the counselling treatment. Moreover, the high correlations between the OQ-45 scale and MMPI-2 questionnaire underline the consistency of the evolution of OQ-45 scores starting from the valid initial mental health assessment carried out by the MMPI. In addition, we explored the predictive role of MMPI-2 dimensions on the OQ-45 scale: only the Psychopathic Deviation (PD) dimension appeared predictive of the positive evolution of the treatment. This is relevant considering a non-clinical sample of university students in which social maladjustment, self-alienation, and social alienation can represent a real high risk for academic success. In conclusion, data analysis shows the appropriateness of the combined use of MMPI-2 and OQ-45 questionnaires in psychological counselling in the academic setting to evaluate, firstly, the validity of the individual clinical profile and, consequently, the response to the treatment offered.