Addictive profiles of Lebanese university students in terms of smoking, alcohol, and illegal drug use

Does mindfulness moderate the association between impulsivity and well-being in Lebanese university students?

Limited evidence showed that impulsivity is negatively related to life satisfaction and wellbeing; however, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. We aimed through this work to investigate the relationship between impulsivity dimensions and well-being and to explore the moderator role of mindfulness on this relationship in a sample of Lebanese university students. This cross-sectional study was carried out among 363 university students recruited through convenience sampling through several universities in Lebanon's governorates. Higher mindfulness was significantly associated with better wellbeing in the models that considered urgency and sensation seeking as independent variables. A lack of premeditation and a lack of perseverance were both inversely associated with well-being. The interaction lack of perseverance by mindfulness was significantly associated with wellbeing; for students who were low in mindfulness, more lack of perseverance was significantly associated with a lower wellbeing. Our study suggested that mindfulness practice may offer a promising avenue for implementing strategies aiming at improving the well-being of students with high levels of impulsivity.

Mindfulness among lebanese university students and its indirect effect between mental health and wellbeing

BACKGROUND

University students are a high-risk population for developing mental health issues. Mindfulness, the non-judgmental awareness of the present moment, has an effective role in numerous psychological contexts among students. However, no previous studies have investigated the association between mindfulness, mental health and wellbeing among Lebanese university students. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the mediating effect of mindfulness in the association between mental health and wellbeing in this population.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study enrolled 363 Lebanese university students recruited through convenience sampling (July-September 2021). The Wellbeing Index Scale, Lebanese Anxiety Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire and Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory were used to assess subjective well-being, anxiety, depression and mindfulness respectively.

RESULTS

Our findings showed that higher mindfulness (Beta = 0.18; p < 0.001) was significantly correlated with a higher wellbeing, whereas more depression (Beta=-0.36; p < 0.001) was significantly associated with a lower wellbeing. The results of the indirect effect analysis showed that mindfulness mediated the association between anxiety and wellbeing and between depression and wellbeing. Higher anxiety/depression were significantly associated with lower mindfulness and a lower wellbeing (direct effect). Moreover, higher mindfulness was significantly associated with a higher wellbeing.

CONCLUSION

Mindfulness is associated with improved wellbeing and plays an indirect role between mental health issues and wellbeing. Our results suggest that mindfulness presents an adaptive approach and coping method associated with improved students' wellbeing.

Psychiatric symptoms, current use of tobacco, alcohol, illicit drug, and poly-substance among medical students in Eastern Turkey

The study aims to investigate the prevalence and patterns of substance use among medical students and to examine associated psychiatric symptoms. It has been observed that depression and psychoticism scores have a significant effect on smoking, and interpersonal sensitivity-hostility-paranoid ideation scores have a significant effect on drinking. It has been shown that interpersonal sensitivity and depression scores are more predictive of mono-and poly-substance use. Revealing the relationship between tobacco, alcohol, poly-substance use, and psychiatric symptoms in the medical school sample shows the importance of practices aimed at increasing students' awareness of their psychiatric symptoms and providing access to psychiatric services.

Food insecurity and mental health of college students in Lebanon: a cross-sectional study

The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) among college students and explore its association with indicators of mental and psychosocial health. Data were collected using a cross-sectional online survey from college students in different universities in Lebanon during the Spring 2021 semester. FI was assessed using the validated eight-item food insecurity experience scale. The mental health of college students was assessed using validated screening tools for depression, anxiety and well-being, namely the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and the World Health Organization (WHO-5) index, respectively. Multiple linear regression models were conducted to assess the relationship of FI with PHQ-9, GAD-7 and WHO-5 scores. A total of 745 students completed the online survey. Approximately 39 % of students in the sample were experiencing FI of which 27·4, 8·1, and 3·5 % were experiencing mild, moderate and severe FI , respectively. Low maternal education, low household monthly income and high levels of stress were significant correlates of FI among college students (P-trend < 0·001). In addition, 22·6 and 34·4 % of students showed severe symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively. Regression models showed that FI was associated with higher scores on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 (β = 2·45; 95 % CI [1·41, 3·49]) and (β = 1·4; 95 % CI [1·1, 2·2], respectively) and lower scores on WHO-5 (β = −4·84; 95 % CI [−8·2, −1·5]). In conclusion, a remarkable proportion of college students reported experiencing different forms of FI, which was associated with poorer mental health and well-being outcomes. Public health programmes and interventions are needed to mitigate FI and improve student health-related outcomes.

Alcohol Use Disorders among Slovak and Czech University Students: A Closer Look at Tobacco Use, Cannabis Use and Socio-Demographic Characteristics

The main objective of the research was to examine the associations between problematic alcohol use, tobacco use and cannabis use among Czech and Slovak university students during the early COVID-19 pandemic. The research sample consisted of 1422 participants from the Czech Republic (CZ) and 1677 from the Slovak Republic (SK). The analyses included university students who drank alcohol in the past year (CZ: 1323 (93%); SK: 1526 (91%)). Regarding the analysed measures, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and its subscales, the Glover-Nilsson Smoking Behavioral Questionnaire (GN-SBQ) and the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) were selected to identify substance-related behaviour. Age, gender and residence were included in the analyses as socio-demographic variables. Correlation and regression analyses were used to achieve the main objective of the research. The main results revealed that the use of tobacco and cannabis were positively associated with alcohol use disorders among Czech and Slovak university students. Additionally, males were more likely to report alcohol use disorders. In the Czech Republic, it was found that students living in dormitories were characterized by a lower AUDIT score. The opposite situation was found in the Slovak Republic. Czech and Slovak policy-makers are encouraged to develop alcohol use prevention programs for university students in line with these findings.