CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
According to the WHO definition (2001), mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual makes full use of his or her abilities, successfully copes with stress in daily life, works efficiently and fruitfully, and is capable of making a positive contribution to society. Mental health is an inseparable part of one’s general health, reflecting a balance between an individual and the environment. Mental, emotional, social and somatic well-being enable an individual to act effectively in his or her environment, achieve goals and develop his or her personality (WHO, 2005). All these areas are listed as important aspects, worth caring about if one wants to build and improve one’s mental health (WHO, 2001). Mental health promotion has a lot in common with the prevention of mental health disorders. Promotion basically concentrates on protective factors (Verhaeghe et al. 2012). The aim of prevention is primarily to prevent behavior that may be risky or the development of mental disorders by concentrating on risk factors. Over the years, governments as well as other European and international institutions have issued dozens of documents listing recommendations and regulations that stipulate how mental health promotion programs should be established and implemented . Following the WHO recommendations, mental health protection and developing one’s true potential should be taken as seriously as medical treatment. There are different groups of people who benefit from such programs, including university students (Stallman, 2010). The reason why this particular group should be given special attention and care is because of the responsibility which lies with educated people and general expectations of their important contribution to social, intellectual and cultural life and to technological progress. Admittedly, higher education is no longer elitist and the number of university graduates is growing rapidly, but it is still hoped that educated people will live up, at least partly, to these expectations. Promoting and protecting students’ mental health gives young people the chance to progress and undertake new developmental tasks. At the same time it prevents them from developing mental disorders. Young adults starting university are exposed to a variety of psychological problems. It seems that the major problem facing students is their inability to cope with stress.
In fact, students are a high risk group for mental disorders, which include depressive, anxiety, emotional and personality disorders (Stallman, 2010). Feelings of depression (26,4%), general anxiety disorder (21,1%), and anxiety attacks (13,9%) are the problems most often declared by young Polish adults (Moskalewicz and Boguszewska, 2012). Mental health and emotional problems as well as a difficulty in coping with stress result in missing classes as well as failing to meet academic requirements such as getting credit for classes or passing exams (Storrie et al., 2010). Thus, it is essential that we promote mental health and design such programs that will be in line with students’ expectations and needs.