Objective

Mental health is an essential issue during adolescence. The number of students who use counseling services is increasing in universities. We attempted to confirm the characteristics of the students who access counseling services using both psychological tests and pulse rate variability (PRV) for better support for students’ academic success.

Methods

We recruited the participants for this study from the students who had counseling sessions at Kanazawa University (Group S). As a control group, we also recruited students who had no experience in counseling services (Group H). We obtained health information from the database of annual health checkups. Participants received the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) III, Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), Sukemune-Hiew (S-H) Resilience Test, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-JYZ (STAI). We also studied the SF-12v2 Health Survey. As a physiological test, we examined the spectral analyses of pulse rate variability (PRV) by accelerating plethysmography. We performed a linear analysis of PRV for LF, HF, and LF/HF as indexes of autonomic nervous function. We also conducted a non-linear analysis of PRV for the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE). Additionally, we examined participants’ blood for autoantibodies against glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) 65.

Results

A total of 105 students participated in this study. Group S had 37 participants (Male: 26, Female: 11), and Group H had 68 participants (Male: 27, Female 41). There were five males and one female who had diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and three males and no female with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by medical institutes in Group S. Additionally, four males and two females had diagnoses of ASD with ADHD by medical institutes in Group S. A male with ASD in Group S had epilepsy. The students of Group S had characteristics as follows: 1) lower power of WMI despite high Full-Scale IQ, 2) higher ASD traits especially in Male, 3) lower resilience powers, 4) higher anxiety trait, 5) lower QOL in Role/social component in both Male and Female, 6) lower QOL in Mental component in Male 7) shifting of autonomic nervous balance toward higher sympathetic activity.

Conclusion

We could confirm the characteristics of students who visited counseling rooms for mental support. We also found gender differences in specificities of Group S. The educational system is changing rapidly to adjust social requests. These changes make conflict with the features of students of Group S. We should think about appropriate supports for the students who would pioneer the future of humanity.