Students’ Experiences of Psychosocial Problems in Higher Education: Battling and Belonging

Around the world, students in higher education suffer from and deal with psychosocial problems. This phenomenon is universal and seems to be increasing. A vast number of students enter higher education with problems like stress, anxiety or depression, or develop them during their student lives, due to, for example, loneliness, family crisis, mental health or study environment issues.

Battling, belonging and recognition are the focal points of this book’s analyses, showing how students faced with psychosocial problems experience high degrees of stigma and exclusion in the academic communities and society as such. The book is based on research situated in a welfare society, Denmark, where students have relatively easy access to higher education and to public support for education as well as special support for students with psychosocial problems. Taking a student perspective, the book provides in-depth, qualitative analyses of what characterizes student life, which specific psychosocial and other problems students experience, how problems are constructed, represented and become significant in relation to studying, and, not least, how students deal with them.

It will be of great interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of educational psychology, sociology of education and higher education. It will also be of interest to supervisors and administrators in higher education.

Trine Wulf-Andersen is Associate Professor of youth, education and participatory research at Roskilde University, Denmark.

Lene Larsen is Associate Professor of youth, education and welfare at Roskilde University, Denmark.

Annie Aarup Jensen is Associate Professor of learning theory and didactics at Aalborg University, Denmark.

Lone Krogh is Associate Professor of Higher Education policies and practices, teaching and learning at Aalborg University, Denmark.

Aske Basselbjerg Stigemo is a postdoc researcher of education and learning, identity and time-environments at Roskilde University, Denmark.

Mathias Hulgård Kristiansen is PhD fellow of education, mental health and participatory research at Roskilde University, Denmark.