Saúde mental e docência no ensino superior: vozes de uma universidade pública do estado do Paraná

Abstract

Mental health has historically permeated many discussions, especially in the 21st century, following the psychiatric reform promoted in the 1960s and 70s. This moment was decisive for the dimensional change in understanding mental health. However, despite a premise focused on the biopsychosocial aspects of mental health, there is still a hegemonic position of individualization and biological determinism in the current capitalist context, which does not take into account the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects that, when associated with the uniqueness of the individual, constitute the issues related to psychological suffering. Over the last few decades, university teachers have been experiencing the impacts of the transformations occurring in society and in the university within their work activities. Thus, the objective was to investigate the relationship between work and the mental health of teachers at UNIOESTE, and to understand the risk factors for "suffering" in this work context. This research was anchored in the theoretical framework of Historical-Cultural Psychology by Lev Semionovich Vygotsky (1896-1934) and authors who align with this perspective, and it uses the historical-dialectical materialist method of Karl Marx (1818- 1883) for the analysis and interpretation of the results. Firstly, a theoretical/bibliographic research was conducted in scientific databases, followed by a quantitative and qualitative field study with 201 teachers. In the qualitative stage, 9 teachers who showed the highest risk indices were selected. Statistical techniques and content analysis were used to understand the data collected through standardized scales and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative results demonstrated that teachers are at "critical" and "severe" risk for psychological distress, primarily related to factors of Work Organization and Conditions, Socio-Professional Relationships, Affective Cost, Cognitive Demands, and Physical Damage. Based on the teachers' narratives, four core themes and eight emerging categories were identified. The teachers reported that the precariousness and intensification of work, the sense of professional devaluation, competition in the academic environment, antagonistic social relations, and decreased quality of life lead to states of suffering and/or psychological distress, such as mental exhaustion, fatigue, irritability, stress, anxiety, lack of motivation, impatience, social inhibition, and melancholy. To cope with these stressors, the teachers described individual strategies such as medication, engaging in sports, participating in cultural and entertainment activities, spending time with pets, and isolating themselves from certain individuals. They reported that there are no collective actions from the university to assist in coping with these challenges, only isolated projects developed by the teachers themselves. It became evident that there is a disconnection between the meaning and significance of their work. In light of the numerous adversities experienced, teachers find themselves alienated, as their work ceases to be an opportunity for the exploration of human potential, transforming into an external activity that unilaterally distorts the essence of the individual, leading to the xii development of a distressed personality. Finally, strategies were suggested for the implementation of permanent internal policies for the prevention and promotion of teaching staff mental health at UNIOESTE, starting from the creation of the Institutional Commission for Mental Health of UNIOESTE (CISMU). It is understood that this research indicates a field that should be continually studied, and it is acknowledged that these contributions add to those already made; however, they are not sufficient to exhaust the topic.