Abstract

OLIVEIRA, Clarissa Tochetto de; DIAS, Ana Cristina Garcia  and  PICCOLOTO, Neri Maurício. Contributions of cognitive behavioral therapy for difficulties in college adjustment. Rev. bras.ter. cogn. [online]. 2013, vol.9, n.1, pp. 10-18. ISSN 1808-5687.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5935/1808-5687.20130003.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been used in different contexts and can be useful to help students in their transition to higher education. The aim of this study is to identify the main difficulties of students in college and to propose how CBT can contribute to minimize these obstacles. Five hundred and four college students participated in the study from 12 undergraduate courses of two public universities in Southern Brazil. The sample characteristics and the difficulties faced by students during college were gathered through a questionnaire collectively applied in the classroom. The information was submitted to content analysis. The main difficulties are the differences between high school and higher education, personal and interpersonal issues, and time management. It is possible that individual and group interventions based on cognitive and behavioral techniques (such as schedule of activities, examination and challenge of cognitive distortions, pie chart, acceptance, and problem solving) help college students handle their difficulties. We concluded that professionals who work with CBT can work in this field, besides carrying out experimental researches in order to propose a specific intervention model for college students.

Keywords : cognitive therapy; college students; higher education.

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