Arslan, G., Yıldırım, M. & Zangeneh, M. Coronavirus Anxiety and Psychological Adjustment in College Students: Exploring the Role of College Belongingness and Social Media Addiction. Int J Ment Health Addiction (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00460-4
The psychological health of people all around the world is severely affected due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study examined a moderated mediation model in which college belongingness mediated the relationship between coronavirus anxiety and psychological adjustment, and this mediation effect was moderated by social media addiction. A total of 315 undergraduate students (M = 21.65±3.68 years and 67% females) participated in this study. The results demonstrated that college belongingness partially mediated the association between coronavirus anxiety and psychological adjustment. The mediating part from coronavirus anxiety to college belongingness was moderated by social media addiction. In comparison with the high level of social media addiction, coronavirus anxiety had a stronger predictive effect on college belongingness under the low and moderate levels of social media addiction condition. Our findings highlight that college belongingness is a potential mechanism explaining how coronavirus anxiety is related to psychological adjustment and that this relation may depend on the levels of social media addiction.
Bachrach, R., & Read, J. (2012). The role of posttraumatic stress and problem alcohol involvement in university academic performance. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68(7), 843–859. https://doi.org/10.1080/87568220801960720
Research indicates that many college students report posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or substance use disorder (SUD), yet there has been scant attention paid to the co-occurrence of these disorders in college students. This review examines the co-occurrence of PTSD and SUD in college students. Recommendations for counseling centers are provided regarding the assessment of this population, an overview of treatment issues, and three areas of clinical importance when working with this population: risk behaviors, interpersonal violence, and social isolation. Future directions for research are also suggested.
Bosari, B., J.P. Read, J.F. Campbell (2008). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorders in College Students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy Vol. 22, Issue 3, 61-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/87568220801960720
Research indicates that many college students report posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or substance use disorder (SUD), yet there has been scant attention paid to the co-occurrence of these disorders in college students. This review examines the co-occurrence of PTSD and SUD in college students. Recommendations for counseling centers are provided regarding the assessment of this population, an overview of treatment issues, and three areas of clinical importance when working with this population: risk behaviors, interpersonal violence, and social isolation. Future directions for research are also suggested.
Cadigan, J. M., & Lee, C. M. (2019). Identifying Barriers to Mental Health Service Utilization Among Heavy Drinking Community College Students. Community college journal of research and practice, 43(8), 585–594. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2018.1520659
Citation/Abstract/Full-Text Retrieved from National Library of Medicine/PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6709858/
There are limited findings on mental health prevalence and service utilization rates among community college (CC) students. Utilizing a heavy drinking CC sample, the current study examined: 1) prevalence of mental health symptoms, 2) mental health service utilization and perceived unmet service need, and 3) barriers to service utilization. Participants were 142 CC students who were heavy alcohol users (70% female; 59% White) from three public CCs in the Pacific Northwest who were participating in a larger study designed to adapt a brief intervention for high-risk alcohol use. Findings of the current study revealed that 32% of CC students had a positive screen for depression; 25% had a positive screen for anxiety; a total of 28% received mental health services in the past 12 months; a total of 41% reported a perceived unmet need for mental health services at some point in the past 12 months (i.e., needing mental health services but not receiving it). Students with mental health symptoms reported more barriers to receiving services, and were more likely to not receive services due to cost, compared to students without mental health symptoms. There were differences in type of barrier as a function of alcohol use severity, although there was no difference in number of barriers. Campuses may benefit from understanding mental health service utilization barriers their students report and to effectively advertise the services offered. Training of student services personnel staff and faculty in screening for mental health or substance use may be a worthwhile and cost-effective endeavor.
DeLaney, E. (2021). Dissertation: Interpersonal Trauma and Mental Health among LGBTQ+ College Students: Examining Social Support and Trauma-related Drinking as Mediators.”
Virginia Commonwealth University, 2021. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7823&context=etd
Despite the increased risk of childhood, adulthood, and lifetime interpersonal trauma among LGBQ+ individuals, existing research that has examined the influence of interpersonal trauma on mental health has primarily focused on LGBQ+ adolescents and samples of LGBQ+ community-based adults, and less on LGBQ+ emerging adults in college. Additionally, limited work has focused on mechanisms that might explain the relations between these variables. Thus, the current study tested the relations between interpersonal trauma (i.e., childhood sexual abuse, adulthood sexual victimization, and lifetime physical assault and IPV) and mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and PTSD symptoms), and examined social support and trauma-related drinking as mediators of these associations among LGBQ+ college students. Participants included 179 LGBQ+ college students (M = 19.48, SD = 0.74) who completed measures of interpersonal trauma, social support, trauma-related drinking, and mental health. Results indicated that each form of interpersonal trauma, except intimate partner violence, was related to at least one mental health symptom. Additionally, trauma-related drinking mediated the relations between adulthood sexual victimization and anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and PTSD symptoms. Similarly, social support partially mediated the association between lifetime physical assault and PTSD symptoms. Findings have research and intervention implications by highlighting the ways that interpersonal trauma and social/ coping processes affect LGBQ+ college students’ mental health.
Leshner, Alan I. and L. A. Scherer, Eds. 2021. Mental Health, Substance Use, and Wellbeing in Higher Education: Supporting the Whole Student. A Consensus Study Report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. National Academies Press. https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/supporting-the-whole-student-mental-health-and-well-being-in-stemm-undergraduate-and-graduate-education
Student wellbeing is foundational to academic success. One recent survey of postsecondary educators found that nearly 80 percent believed emotional wellbeing is a “very” or “extremely” important factor in student success. Studies have found the dropout rates for students with a diagnosed mental health problem range from 43 percent to as high as 86 percent. While dealing with stress is a normal part of life, for some students, stress can adversely affect their physical, emotional, and psychological health, particularly given that adolescence and early adulthood are when most mental illnesses are first manifested. In addition to students who may develop mental health challenges during their time in postsecondary education, many students arrive on campus with a mental health problem or having experienced significant trauma in their lives, which can also negatively affect physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing.
Maté, G. (2010). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction.
Countering prevailing notions of addiction as either a genetic disease or an individual moral failure, Dr. Gabor Maté presents an eloquent case that addiction – all addiction – is in fact a case of human development gone askew. Turning to the neurobiological roots of addiction, Dr. Maté presents an astonishing array of scientific evidence showing conclusively that:
- addictive tendencies arise in the parts of our brains governing some of our most basic and life-sustaining needs and functions: incentive and motivation, physical and emotional pain relief, the regulation of stress, and the capacity to feel and receive love;
- these brain circuits develop, or don’t develop, largely under the influence of the nurturing environment in early life, and that therefore addiction represents a failure of these crucial systems to mature in the way nature intended; and
- the human brain continues to develop new circuitry throughout the lifespan, including well into adulthood, giving new hope for people mired in addictive patterns. Dr. Maté then examines the current mainstream.
Read, J. P., Griffin, M. J., Wardell, J. D., & Ouimette, P. (2014). Coping, PTSD symptoms, and alcohol involvement in trauma-exposed college students in the first three years of college. Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 28(4), 1052–1064. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038348
Link to Full-Text from National Library of Medicine: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25528048/
The objective of the present study was to examine prospective, bidirectional associations among posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, coping style, and alcohol involvement (use, consequences) in a sample of trauma-exposed students just entering college. We also sought to test the mechanistic role that coping may play in associations between PTSD symptoms and problem alcohol involvement over time. Participants (N = 734) completed measures of trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, coping, and alcohol use and consequences in September of their first college year and again each September for the next 2 years. We observed reciprocal associations between PTSD and negative coping strategies. In our examination of a mediated pathway through coping, we found an indirect association from alcohol consequences and PTSD symptoms via negative coping, suggesting that alcohol consequences may exacerbate posttraumatic stress over time by promoting negative coping strategies. Trauma characteristics such as type (interpersonal vs. noninterpersonal) and trauma reexposure did not moderate these pathways. Models were also invariant across gender. Findings from the present study point to risk that is conferred by both PTSD and alcohol consequences for using negative coping approaches, and through this, for posttraumatic stress. Interventions designed to decrease negative coping may help to offset this risk, leading to more positive outcomes for those students who enter college with trauma exposure.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.
(SMA) 14-4884. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014. https://ncsacw.samhsa.gov/userfiles/files/SAMHSA_Trauma.pdf
Addressing trauma requires a multi-pronged, multi-agency public health approach inclusive of public education and awareness, prevention and early identification, and effective trauma-specific assessment and treatment. In order to maximize the impact of these efforts, they need to be provided in an organizational or community context that is trauma-informed, that is, based on the knowledge and understanding of trauma and its far-reaching implications.
Tuliao, A. P., Jaffe, A. E., & McChargue, D. E. (2016). Alcohol expectancies, posttraumatic stress disorder, and alcohol use in college students with a history of childhood trauma. Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 12(1), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15504263.2016.1146382
Prior research has emphasized that the key mediator in the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom–alcohol use relationship is the expectancy of alcohol’s tension-reducing properties. This study extends the literature by examining various alcohol outcome expectancies. Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 198 college students who reported experiencing at least one traumatic event in childhood. Participants answered surveys measuring PTSD symptoms, alcohol outcome expectancies, and three measures of alcohol consumption and related problems. Results: Participants included 131 males (mean age = 19.65 years, SD = 1.06, range = 18 to 24) and 67 females (mean age = 19.43 years, SD = 0.82, range = 18 to 23), who were predominantly European-American (82%). For males and females, results of the multivariate analyses suggested that self-perception expectancies mediated the effects of PTSD symptoms on alcohol use severity, whereas sociability expectancies mediated the effects of PTSD symptoms on monthly alcohol use. For women, risk and aggression and sexuality expectancies mediated the relationship between PTSD symptoms and alcohol use severity, while risk and aggression expectancies mediated the relationship between PTSD symptoms and alcohol use consequences. For men, sociability expectancies mediated the effects of PTSD symptoms on alcohol use severity. Across genders, tension-reduction expectancies did not mediate the relationship between PTSD symptom and the three alcohol measures. Conclusions: This study was unable to find support for the self-medication hypothesis via the tension-reduction outcome expectancy pathway. However, other significant findings can be interpreted in light of the self-medication hypothesis. For example, alcohol may aid in coping with social impairments related to PTSD symptoms, particularly in a college sample. This study also highlighted gender differences in the association between PTSD symptoms and alcohol consumption and related problems.
Welsh, J. W., Shentu, Y., & Sarvey, D. B. (2019). Substance Use Among College Students. Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing), 17(2), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20180037
U.S. college campuses have witnessed a national increase of cannabis, stimulant, and illicit drug use among students over the past decade. Substance use among college students is associated with numerous negative outcomes including lower academic performance, a higher probability of unemployment after graduation, and an increased risk of committing and experiencing sexual assault. Several risk factors for substance use are specific to this population, including an affiliation with Greek life, perception of high academic pressure, and peer pressure. Students with problematic substance use also face unique challenges in planning treatment, including aspects of confidentiality, financial constraints, and potential university oversight and involvement. This article highlights the prevalence of substance use on college campuses and describes some of the specific challenges and approaches to treatment in this population, including screening tests and interventions for specific substances used on college campuses and evidence-based substance use programming for college students.