The transition from high school to college is a particularly stressful time for many young adults and may lead to participation in risky health behaviors including substance use and disordered eating. These behaviors can result in a variety of adverse effects including mental health effects, impaired daily functioning, and lower academic outcomes. Sexual minority (SM) students may face additional stressors during the college transition related to their SM identities which may refer increase their risk of participating in risky health behaviors. In fact, SM students are five times more likely to engage in substance use and/or disordered eating compared to their heterosexual counterparts. This study examines the prevalence, frequency, and trajectories of substance use and disordered eating behaviors among SM and heterosexual first-year college students.
The study’s sample consisted of 704 first-year undergraduate students from a midsized Canadian university. Participants completed a baseline survey and monthly surveys from October to April. The baseline survey assessed sexual orientation and lifetime and recent history of risky health behaviors. During the monthly surveys, students were asked to report recent binge drinking, tobacco use, cannabis use, and use of other illicit drugs. Respondents were also assessed for binge eating, fasting, and purging behaviors during the past 30 days. Data was analyzed using two-step hierarchical binary and multiple linear logistic regressions.
Results of the data analysis showed that SM students reported more frequent past year drug use compared to heterosexual students. SM students also reported significantly less past-year tobacco use. SM status was a significant predictor of variance in cannabis use. In addition, SM students’ average frequency of binge drinking decreased more slowly than their heterosexual counterparts during their first year of college. In regards to illicit drug use, SM students’ average frequency decreased over the academic year while heterosexual students’ illicit drug use increased. At the beginning of the college year SM students reported more frequent binge eating and SM status accounted for a significant amount of variance in binge eating and fasting but not purging.
Takeaway: Some aspects of prevalence, frequency, and trajectories of substance use and disordered eating behaviors may differ between sexual minority and heterosexual college students.