The leading cause of disease burden among those aged 10-24 years old is disorders related to mental health and substance use. Recent studies have shown that in Canada, the 12-month prevalence of mental health disorders is 2-3 times greater among those with substance misuse than those without substance misuse. Much existing literature has shown that there is a strong correlation between mental health and substance use, but the exact relationship is unclear. The goal of this study is to identify groups of students that have distinct profiles of mental health symptom (MH) and substance use (SU) risk and the extent to which the mental health history and socio-demographics predict subgroup memberships.
This study collected data from a repeat cross-sectional online administration of the WHO WMH-ICS survey for students attending a large university in British Columbia. Data from February 2020 to September 2022 comprised 10,935 active university students who participated in the surveys. MH symptomology was measured by screening for symptoms of anxiety or depression using Likert-type response options. Alcohol use risk, cannabis use risk, opioid misuse risk, stimulant misuse risk, and socio-demographics were also measured. Socio-demographic questions consisted of age, gender, student year, ethnicity, international status, and type of accommodation. The subgroups were identified via latent class analysis (LCA). Subgroups comprised High MH-Low SU, Low MH-Low SU, High MH- High SU, and Low MH-High SU.
The results showed that the number of classes and patterns of comorbidity aligned with other effects of LCAs. Fourth-year undergraduate students were found to be more likely to be involved in High MH – High SU and low MH-High SU, but graduate and undergraduate third-year students were more likely to be in Low MH-High SU classes. This study showed that there is a possible need to consider mental health symptoms, substance use, gender, ethnicity, and mental health history when developing intervention and implementation strategies.
Takeaway: Mental health symptoms, substance use, gender, ethnicity, and mental health history need to be considered when developing comprehensive intervention and implementation strategies.
Richard J. Munthali , Chris G. Richardson , Julia Pei , Jean N. Westenberg , Lonna Munro , Randy P. Auerbach , Ana Paula Prescivalli , Melissa Vereschagin , Quinten K. Clarke , Angel Y. Wang & Daniel Vigo (2023) Patterns of anxiety, depression, and substance use risk behaviors among university students in Canada, Journal of American College Health, DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2023.2277201