The mental health of university students has recently become an urgent issue. Students can be vulnerable in several ways from a mental health perspective (Brown, 2018). Most mental health problems develop in early life, with the onset of 75% of lifetime mental disorders occurring by the age of 25 (Kessler et al., 2007). The student age coincides with the new age phase studied in the last two decades—emerging adulthood, which is observed as a distinct age phase (18-25 years of age) and is wedged between late adolescence and youth. Emerging adulthood is a transitional age of identity explorations, instability, self-focus, and of possibilities in various areas of life (Arnett, 2004), which is more characteristic of rapidly developing countries. Besides age characteristics, academic activities are often stressful due to various factors: academic load and current assessments, competition and rotation, exam stress, payment difficulties, new social environment, academic requirements, etc. In addition, many students combine study with work, many others also raise a family, engage in various civic movements, and take part in public life. Respectively, all the mentioned factors exacerbate academic-related stress that influences students’ academic integration, continuity of education, and academic performance.

The annual report 2020 of the Center for Collegiate Mental Health showed that around 60% of students in 153 U.S. colleges and universities used psychological services. Anxiety and depression, eating and sleep disorders, addictions, attention deficit, as well as post-traumatic disorders continued to be the most common mental health problems among students (CCMH, 2020). Another survey of 274 institutions revealed an increase in “severe” psychological problems over the previous 5 years including learning disabilities, self-injury incidents, eating disorders, substance use, and sexual assaults reported by 88% of counseling center directors (Gallagher, 2000). There is a lack of studies in Armenia that would present what problems students face and which part of them is most vulnerable in terms of mental health, taking into consideration various socio-psychosocial and demographic factors. The characterization of mental health among Armenian students may be different conditioned by socio-economic, socio-political, and socio-cultural differences.

The study of problems relating students’ mental health and psychological well-being among the students who differentially experienced the course and consequences of the pandemic is especially important, taking into consideration the new concerns about uncertainty, predictability of the future security (Cao, Fang, et.al, 2020), and in case of Armenia - also the concerns about consequences of the armed conflict in 2020 (CRRC Armenia Report, 2021).

WHO declares that mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” and thus “mental health promotion involves actions that improve psychological well-being” (WHO, 2004). Considering the approach of WHO that mental health is not only the absence of mental disorders, current study is based on the conceptualization of mental health as a positive mental health or mental well-being (WHO, 2013). Particularly in positive psychology this conceptualization of mental health covers two perspectives: (1) subjective experience of happiness (affect) and life satisfaction (the hedonic perspective); and (2) positive psychological functioning, good relationships with others, and self-realization (the eudaimonic perspective) (Stewart-Brown, Janmohamed, 2008). The second perspective is largely accepted as psychological well-being includes the ability for personal growth, positive relationship with others, autonomy, self-acceptance, purpose in life, competence (Ryff, 1989).

The study aimed to identify subjectively perceived life difficulties of students and to consider their role in terms of students' psychological well-being.

The first stage of the study was based upon a sample of 543 students from different universities of Yerevan, of whom 385 (71%) were women, with an average age of 20.4 (SD =2.568). Data collection was conducted in March-May 2021. The participants were asked open-ended questions to find out the difficulties they encountered during their study years. The further analysis was conducted with Russian collaborators within the joint project. The methodology of thematic analysis (Robinson, 2021) was applied. The research team members performed the thematic coding of answers independently, after which all the answers were combined. The thematic analysis results for the Armenian sample were compared with those of the Russian collaborators. In the end, the questionnaire for the measurement of subjectively perceived life difficulties of students was developed together with Russian collaborators. It comprises 50 items describing difficulties in various areas of life and educational process: academic, social, emotional difficulties, difficulties related to the changes in residency, daily routine and organizational difficulties, personal difficulties, stressful/extreme events non-related to education. To test the new tool, the second stage of survey was conducted in December 2021. As a result of data quality screening, the data of 240 participants were used for further analysis, of whom 194 were women, with an average age of 20.8 (SD=5.654), 75.4% of participants were bachelor students, 43% of students combined study with work. The survey package included the measurement of subjectively perceived life difficulties, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and additional questions regarding some demographic factors (e.g., sex, employment status, residency changes due to education). The WEMWBS was developed by researchers at the Universities of Warwick and Edinburgh. It is a 14-item scale of mental well-being covering subjective well-being and psychological functioning, in which all items are worded positively and address aspects of positive mental health. The scale is scored by summing responses to each item answered on a 1 to 5 Likert scale. The minimum scale score is 14 and the maximum is 70 (Stewart-Brown, Janmohamed, 2008, p.2). The Armenian version was adapted through the common procedure: translation, back-translation, items comparison with the original version. The internal consistency for the scale was quite satisfactory (Cronbach’s α=0.90). Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23.0. The methods of descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis were applied.

The descriptive analysis allowed to figure out the most common subjectively perceived life difficulties (>60% prevalence). The high prevalence had the consequences of war, emotional difficulties (exhaustion, negative emotions, stress, decline of motivation), academic difficulties, especially cognitive ones (academic workload, lack of professional literature in Armenian, lack of direct communication because of online learning), as well as time management difficulties, high personal responsibility for professional development, sleep difficulties, unhealthy lifestyle, lack of activity, lack of leisure time. The results of correlation analysis showed significant negative associations between psychological well-being and academic, emotional, organizational, personal, and stressful situations related difficulties. A significant regression was found (F= 6.896; p < 0.0001), with an R2 adjusted of 0.405. Sex (B=3.421, t=2.523, p=0.012) and employment status (B=2.248, t=2.188, p=0.030) significantly predicted psychological well-being. On the other hand, the emotional (B=-0.959, t=-1.984, p=0.049) and personal difficulties had a negative impact on psychological well-being (B=-3.292, t=-6.154, p<0.001). The results of regression indicate that only emotional and personal (self-confidence, uncertainty of the future, existential conflict) aspects are significant for psychological well-being despite having different significant correlations between life difficulties and psychological well-being. Based on this, we can propose that all kinds of difficulties are accumulated in intrapersonal type of difficulties. The results of this and other studies revealed the necessity of organizing psychosocial support or counseling services in universities in Armenia, aimed at the development of self-regulation, resilience, self-confidence, goal-directed behavior, decision-making skills, etc. This approach is based on the idea of positive functioning, mental well-being, which can help to overcome mental health stigma. Considering the experience of different countries and diversity of intervention models, the multilevel model is proposed which includes non-formal and formal interventions with different types of services: psychoeducation, group support, group, and individual counseling, establishing a network with community mental health centers.

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