Prevalence of Emotional Distress and Use of Maladaptive Emotional Regulation Strategies among University Students

University students often experience psychological distress for various reasons, such as the transition to adulthood and the new challenges this stage brings. As a result, it is common for them to present symptoms like anxiety, depression, and somatization. It has been suggested that emotional regulation strategies have a significant relationship with these psychological symptoms. However, most studies on this relationship have primarily focused on adult populations. This was an exploratory descriptive study that aim to explore the mental health status of university students based on a sample of 556 participants. Additionally, the use of different emotional regulation strategies was examined. Several questionnaires were used to measure psychological symptoms (PHQ-9, GAD-7 y PHQ-15) and emotional regulation strategies (PSWQ-A, RRS-B, CERQ-18 y ERQ). The results revealed a high presence of psychological distress among students and a high use of certain maladaptive emotional regulation strategies such as worry, emotional suppression, and rumination. It appears that the students with the highest symptomatology are women and those in their first or last year of study. These findings could help develop preventive programs for this population, focusing on different sociodemographic risk factors and the key emotional regulation strategies involved.