Objective: The authors reviewed demographic and clinical characteristics of undergraduates at a Brazilian public university (UNICAMP) who visited the campus mental health service (SAPPE) and compared their demographics with those from all undergraduate students enrolled in the university.
Participants: The authors looked at data from all undergraduates who sought counseling or mental health care at SAPPE over a 17-year period (N = 2,203; 1987-2004).
Methods: They obtained this information from clinical charts and a UNICAMP database.
Results: Women, students from other Brazilian states, students living in the campus residence hall, and students whose main source of income was a scholarship were overrepresented. Female student-clients complained about family conflicts more frequently than did their male counterparts, and male student-clients reported concern about poor academic performance more frequently than did their female counterparts.
Conclusions: Sex, living in a university residential facility, and reliance on a scholarship grant were predictive of undergraduates' mental health-seeking behavior and pattern of complaints.