Excessive drinking and drug use during college: Prospective associations with graduate school plans and attendance

Alcohol Intake and Academic Performance and Dropout in High School: A Prospective Cohort Study in 65,233 Adolescents

PURPOSE

During the teenage years, many adolescents start drinking alcohol, and binge drinking is prevalent. We investigated the relationship between alcohol intake and academic performance.

METHODS

We conducted a longitudinal cohort study by combining data from the Danish National Youth Study on 65,233 high school students aged 15-20 years, with information on dropout and grade point average. We assessed associations between alcohol intake and academic performance using multilevel Poisson regression and linear regression, accounting for dependency between students from the same school and class.

RESULTS

The average alcohol intake was 10 drinks per week, and 43.6% engaged in binge drinking 3+ times per month. During follow-up, 9.8% of the boys and 6.7% of the girls dropped out. The incidence rate ratio was higher in never drinkers, frequent binge drinkers, and those with a high weekly alcohol intake as compared to those with a low intake. For example, the incidence rate ratio was 1.47 (95% confidence level: 1.24, 1.76) in girls who drank 21-27 drinks per week and 1.29 (95% confidence level: 1.13, 1.48) in girls who never drank as compared to those who drank <7 drinks per week. Alcohol associated with a lower grade point average over the entire span of intake in a dose-dependent manner, and similarly so in boys and girls. Findings were consistent in strata of socioeconomy and individual academic ambition.

DISCUSSION

Alcohol intake has implications for academic performance and poses a threat for the prospects of the individual as well as society. Policies and interventions aimed at lowering the intake among high school students are warranted.

A 2-year follow-up of the effects of combined binge drinking and cannabis consumption on academic performance and adjustment in Spanish third-year university students

Introduction

The study was based on 2-year follow-up of the effects of binge drinking and cannabis co-consumption on academic performance and adjustment in Spanish Third-Year University Students and to further explore the impact of academic adjustment on this relationship.

Methods

A total of 144 students (aged 19-20 years) enrolled in the third year of university completed the study. The students were recruited during in first academic year (T1) via a survey that included items regarding the use of alcohol (AUDIT-C), cannabis and other drugs and demographic variables. Then, participants meeting the study criteria were then selected and invited by e-mail to a clinical (face-to face) structured interview. The participants completed a calendar of alcohol consumption during the 6 months prior to the interview (Alcohol Timeline Follow back), and recorded cannabis consumption in 3 months prior to the interview. To examine the effects of alcohol and cannabis co-consumption on the outcome variables, we categorized participants into three consumption groups (i.e., control, BD, and BDCA) based on the number of BD days and cannabis unit scores.

Results

Binge drinking and cannabis co-consumption in first-year students was significantly associated with poor academic performance and adjustment after 2 years of undergraduate study. Relative to controls, co-consumers (BDCA) reported significantly lower academic and personal-emotional adjustment to university as well as poorer performance. Mediation analysis showed that academic adjustment explains the mechanism by which BDCAs perform less well, mediating the relationship between co-consumption and academic performance, with an indirect effect representing 64.61% of the total effect. Furthermore, the mediating effect of academic adjustment was maintained after controlling for academic adjustment and baseline grade point average (T1).

Conclusion

This prospective follow-up study helps to further our knowledge of how combined binge drinking and cannabis consumption may affect university adjustment and academic success in Spanish university students Overall, the study results should encourage health professionals, educational psychologists and academic institutions to take ownership of the need for support and involvement in prevention, as well as for provision of guidelines for implementing appropriate intervention strategies.

A longitudinal study of protective factors against substance use in early adolescence. An ecological approach

BACKGROUND

Adolescent substance use has been widely related to different individual, school, family and community factors. Yet, the number of studies with all these variables together in a model from an ecological perspective is still low, and they rarely used a longitudinal design. The aim of this study was to explore, from an ecological perspective, the prospective impact of different individual, school, family and neighbourhood factors on adolescent substance use.

METHODS

This was a longitudinal study with a one-year follow up. There were 881 participants (M_age = 12.57; 48.1% females) at wave 1, of which 686 (M_age = 13.51; 51.8% females) were followed-up at wave 2. Validated questionnaires were used for data collection.

RESULTS

Regression analyses showed that higher substance use was predicted by high family socio-economic status cross-sectionally and longitudinally, and it was related to low neighbourhood socio-economic status cross-sectionally only. Participants who disliked school and had a poor academic performance were more likely to use substances, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.

CONCLUSIONS

The inclusion of families in substance use prevention programmes could be a key component in these interventions. Moreover, promotion of a positive school climate could protect adolescents from using substances.

Prevalence of heavy episodic drinking and alcohol use disorder diagnosis among US college students: results from the national Healthy Minds Study

Alcohol use is a common, recognized problem on college campuses. This study examined alcohol use in a national sample of US college students across 78 campuses. Using four waves of data from the Healthy Minds Study (2015-2019), we explored variations by student demographics in prevalence of recent: alcohol consumption, heavy episodic drinking (HED, 4/5 + drinks in one sitting), frequent HED (3 + HED events), and lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnosis. Stratified analyses and logistic regression with response propensity weights were used. Two-thirds of students consumed alcohol and roughly-one-third engaged in HED in the past 2 weeks. Alcohol use was more common among students who: identified as cis women/men, bisexual or gay/lesbian/queer, white non-Hispanic, lived in Greek housing or off-campus, were not first generation, or those not rating religion as important. Prevalence of HED among recent drinkers was high (56.7%) but varied by gender identity, race-ethnicity, living situation, and religiosity. In addition, higher HED prevalence was reported among: international, undergraduate, and underage (under 21) students. There was little variation in HED by sexual orientation identity or first generation status among recent drinkers. In a sub-sample of students engaging in frequent HED, AUD diagnosis was uncommon (1.4%) and less likely among students identifying as: cis women/men, heterosexual, racial-ethnic minorities (particularly Asian/Asian American or Pacific Islander), international, religious, or living in Greek housing. Alcohol use continues to be a part of college life, while screening and treatment remains rare. There are opportunities for improved programming and outreach acknowledging college student diversity.

The influence of race, sexual orientation and gender identity on mental health, substance use, and academic persistence during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study from a national sample of college students in the healthy minds study

Purpose

This study seeks to characterize substance use, mental health, and academic persistence in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing variations by race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Methods

National samples (n = 146,810) of undergraduate students from the Healthy Minds Study were compared in two time periods: Fall 2017-Winter 2020 (pre-COVID) and March-December 2020. Descriptive statistics were conducted including t-tests/chi square tests comparing differences between time periods. Logistic regressions were estimated for main outcomes: substance use (licit, illicit, none), anxiety and/or depression symptoms, and academic persistence (student confidence that they will finish their degree). Marginal effects of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity were reported for all logistic regressions.

Results

In March-December 2020, students had 1.70 higher odds of screening positive for anxiety and/or depression compared to pre-COVID semesters. Latinx, Black, and "other" race/ethnicity had significantly higher probabilities of screening positive, as did transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) students.;Students had 0.43 times lower odds of reporting substance use in March-December 2020. Asian, Black, and Latinx students had significantly lower probabilities of reporting substance use, as did TGNC and LGBQ students.; During the pandemic, most students (86.7%) report at least 1 day of academic impairment (emotional/mental difficulties that hurt academic performance) in the last month due to mental health (up from 79.9% pre-pandemic).

Conclusions

Using the most comprehensive mental health data in college student populations, this is the first study to describe the impact of the pandemic on undergraduate students' substance use, mental health, and academic persistence/impairment.

The Effect of Spirituality on Mood: Mediation by Self-Esteem, Social Support, and Meaning in Life

Negative correlations between religiosity or spirituality and depression symptoms have been frequently reported, but relatively few empirical studies have investigated the processes that mediate the relationships. This study investigated four theorized mediators in a single model to assess the unique contributions of self-esteem, social support, meaning in life, and positive religious coping to the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and two markers of depression, positive affect and negative affect. Path analysis was employed to investigate multiple mediation models in a sample of 352 undergraduates. Non-significant paths were removed, and a second independent sample of 316 undergraduates was used to validate the trimmed models. Results indicated that self-esteem mediated the relationships between spirituality and both positive and negative affect. Meaning in life also mediated the relationship between spirituality and positive affect, while social support mediated the relationship between spirituality and negative affect. Positive religious coping did not mediate either relationship, possibly because the samples were not drawn from populations under stress. The relationship between intrinsic religiosity and positive affect was similarly mediated by self-esteem and meaning in life. Religiosity and negative affect were related through the mediators self-esteem and an unexpectedly adverse factor captured by positive religious coping in the models used.