DRUG ABUSE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO MENTAL HEALTH AMONG

COLLEGE STUDENTS

by

Ada T Ling

A proposal submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course

HCSV425 in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences

California State University, Chico

November 27, 2018

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………....……. 1

Statement of the problem……………….……………………...………………… 1

Purpose and significance of the study…………………………………….……… 2

Delimitations…………………………………….………………………………. 3

Limitations…………………………………………………..….……………….. 3

Assumptions………………………………………………………..……………. 4

Research Questions…………………………………..……………………………4

Definition of terms……………….…………………………….…………………5

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE……….……………………..………... 5

Drug abuse ………………………………………….…………….………..……. 6

Mental health …………………………………………………….……………… 7

Summary………………………………………….…………………..………….. 8

3. PROCEDURES…………...……………………………,,,….…………………. 9

Selection of research design………………………………...….…………….… 9

Selection research of instrument(s)………………………………….…………..10

Selection of subjects……………………………………………………………..10

Collection of data……………………………………………….……………….11

Organization and interpretation of data…………………..………………..…….11

REFERENCE…………………..…………..…….……………………………...12

APPENDIX A……………………………………………………………..……..14

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 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

When people are stressed or feeling down, they often do things they

ordinarily would not do, things they end up regretting or feeling embarrassed

about later. They may go along with doing drugs when they feel overwhelmed

and do not know what to do. They may form the habit of smoking or using other

drugs when stressed. Choosing whether or not to risk developing a habit with

smoking when stressed is important. It is a choice one should make but with

stress there are other healthy ways to destress rather than smoking.

Unfortunately, there are many people who let stress get in the way of doing the

right thing.

The literature has shown a strong correlation between smoking tobacco

and increased symptoms of depression in the general population, but little is

known about the relationship between smoking and mental health in young adults.

The focus of this research was on young adults because they, as a group, report

high levels of mental health conditions and smoking (McChargue, Cohen &

Cook, 2004).

Statement of the Problem

This study examined the relationships between drug abuse and multiple

sexual partners among undergraduate, female and male students attending

California State University, Chico during the spring 2019 semester.

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 Purpose and Significance of the Study

The intent of this study was to gain a better understanding of the

relationship between drug abuse that may result in an increased risk of mental

health. Depression and/or anxiety examined showed an increase habit of smoking

behavior.

The relationship between mental health and drug abuse cannot be

overlooked. Both Bandiera, Loukas, Wilkinson and Perry (2016) and Gilbert,

Stunkard, Jensen, Detwiler, and Martinko (1996) found relationships between

tobacco use and depression. They found that those who abuse drugs more

frequently then to have a higher rate of mental health issues. Although most

studies in the literature reviewed made this link between drug abuse and

depression, they did not establish whether these two factors occurred on the same

occasion. If the results of this study provide information that gives insight about

causal associations, it needs to be known by the public.

Students need this information to make responsible decisions. Educational

programs need to show students the potential consequences. Colleges need to

take advantage of their opportunity to have an impact on the smoking problems

occurring on their campuses. Colleges need to promote healthy lifestyles and

positive decision-making in regard to smoking and mental health.

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 Delimitations

This study was delimited to:

1. A systematic sampling, stratified by class and gender, totaling 800

freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior undergraduate, female and male

students attending California State University, Chico. The subjects were

between the ages of 18-25 during the spring 2019 semester.

2. The drug abuse and poor mental health of the sample population during

the year prior to the survey.

3. A thirty item, closed-ended questionnaire adapted from the McChargue et

al. (2004) study which was used to measure the relationship between drug

abuse and mental health among young adults.

Limitations

This study was limited by the following:

1. Participation in this study was voluntary.

2. The questionnaire was self-administered by the subjects.

3. Some of the subjects did not complete the questionnaire.

4. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire.

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 Assumptions

The study was conducted under the following assumptions:

1. The sample of college students assessed was representative of the 18-25-

year-old freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior undergraduate students

at California State University, Chico during the spring 2019 semester.

2. The questionnaire provided a reliable and valid measure of alcohol abuse

and poor mental health in anxiety/depression among the subjects of this

study.

3. The subjects responded truthfully about their drug abuse and mental

health.

4. The subjects provided consent to provide the information.

Research Questions

1. Have you in your year(s) in college felt sad and hopelessness?

2. Have you ever felt unusually stressed out while at university? If yes, what

was the cause of the increased pressure?

3. If you ever did feel stressed at university, would you speak to someone

about it? If yes, who would you speak to?

4. If someone you knew talked about their own mental health problems to

you, what would you do?

5. Have you developed a mental health problem since being at university?

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 Definition of Terms

Terms used in this study were defined as follows:

Drug abuse. The use of substances, such as alcohol, marijuana, and

cigarettes in ways you shouldn’t (Claros & Sharma, 2012).

Mental Health. Emotional, behavioral, and social maturity or normality;

the absence of a mental or behavioral disorder; a state of psychological well-being

in which one has achieved a satisfactory integration of one's instinctual drives

acceptable to both oneself and one's social milieu; an appropriate balance of love,

work, and leisure pursuits (Nordqvis, 2017).

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Drug abuse and mental health is becoming a dangerous combination. Any

usage of alcohol, tobacco and/or marijuana can temporary helps one destresses for

a short period of time. (Goodwin, Grinberg, Shapiro, Keith, McNeil, Taha, Jiang,

& Hart, 2014). Mental health care is important during the ages of college students

since the ages of 20-30 is when mental health illnesses occurs. A lowered

inhibition and impairment in judgment and thinking can have negative

consequences such as sleeping problems, addiction, and mental health issues such

as depression and anxiety. This review of literature will examine relationships

between drug abuse and mental health. Particular focus will be directed towards

college students of all levels.

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 The review of literature is divided into three categories:

1. literature about drug abuse,

2. literature regarding mental health, and

3. a summary.

Drug Abuse

In a study by McChargue, Cohen, and Cook (2004), they looked at the

relationship between college students that abused tobacco and their mental health.

With this study it showed that students that were more stressed, meaning that they

had poor mental health many abused drugs like tobacco and alcohol. About 27%

of the students became addicted to smoking over their time in college. Many of

the students reported that they smoke and drank alcohol causally. Not only did

this study showed that many students abuse drugs, in a study by Mee (2014) she

concluded that there is a positive correlation between depression and smoking

behavior when looking at college students from the age of 18-21. Over 26% of

students claimed that they have used a combination of drugs such as tobacco and

alcohol together. Not only did they abuse drugs but 22% of students reported that

they have felt depressed recently.

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 Mental Health

Many individuals move away from home for the first time when moving

to college, stress occurs when students have to learn to cook, clean, take care of

bills all by themselves. With many tasks thrown to them all at once many develop

anxiety and depression symptoms within their first year of college (Kenney,

DiGuiseppi, Meisel, Balestrieri, & Barnett, 2018). In a systematic review by

Kenney, DiGuiseppi, Meisel, Balestrieri and Barnett (2018) examined the

relationships between anxiety and depressed mood when freshman students

moved out to college resulting in drug abuse such as binge drinking. Their

hypothesis was supported with students with high levels of anxiety resulted in

drinking about 25 drinks or more a month compared to students that were

depressed drink one or little to none a month.

This study relates to another study done by Boehm, Lei, Lloyd and

Prichard (2016) and Xu, Qi, Yang and Wen (2016) who looked at college students

and their mental health. Unlike the study done by Kenney at el. (2018) who found

that there was no relationship between drug abuse and poor mental health in

depression in college students. The two studies have found that not only does the

abuse of alcohol has caused higher depression rates. In addition, it causes higher

rates of sleep deprivation and smoking rates. In addition, it causes higher rates of

sleep deprivation and smoking rates. In Boehm at el. (2016) 73% of students have

reported that they have smoked tobacco, and 31% have felt depressed. As for Xu

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at el. (2016), 29.7% of college students reported mild-to-moderate depressive

symptoms the past month.

Summary

The literature has shown strong relationships between drug abuse and

mental health. Researchers agree that there is an increase of drug abuse when

college students experience high levels of stress during their four years in college

which can result in poor mental health. Most agree that the number of drinks

and/or tobacco consumed has a direct effect on stress levels resulting the higher

risk of mental health illnesses. The more frequent use of drug usage usually

results in poor mental health.

In addition, higher incidence of smoking and drug abuse increases the

chance of poor mental health. While there is a strong correlation between tobacco

and alcohol abuse and poor mental health the opposite is true for the relationship

between other drug usage and poor mental health. No direct relationship was

found in any of the studies reviewed. This is a topic wide-open for further

research.

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 Chapter 3

PROCEDURES

This study examined the relationship between drug abuse and mental

health.

The procedures used in this study were:

1. selection of the research design,

2. selection of the research instrument,

3. selections of the subjects,

4. collection of data, and

5. organization and interpretation of data.

Selection of Research Design

A cross-sectional survey design was employed in this study. A self-

administered questionnaire completed by the subjects was used instead of an

interview for three reasons. First, being on a limited budget, the questionnaire

was less costly than a face-to-face interview. Second, the element of interviewer

bias was eliminated from the study. Third, a written questionnaire ensured

anonymity and privacy to the respondents. This study dealt with sensitive issues

and the use of a self-administered questionnaire minimized the reluctance of

respondents to answer the questions.

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 Selection of Research Instrument

The instrument used in this study was a thirty-item questionnaire obtained

from McChargue et al. (2004) survey which was used to measure the relationship

between drug abuse and mental health (see Appendix A). The topics covered by

the questionnaire included drug abuse and mental health. The questionnaire

consisted of thirty closed-ended items. McChargue et al. (2004) determined that

the instrument had an acceptable (0.85) test-retest reliability through a pilot test

given to 25 participants on two separate occasions. McChargue et al. (2004)

assessed content validity by doing a review of the relevant literature to determine

if the instrument covered the full range of meanings. Construct validity was

determined by a jury of experts who reviewed the instrument.

Selection of Research Subjects

The subjects for this study included 800 undergraduate students attending

California State University, Chico during the spring 2019 semester. A list of all

students attending the university at that time was obtained from the University

Office of Admissions and Records. The list was stratified by gender and class to

reduce the degree of sampling error. Systematic sampling was then used to

acquire 200 students from each of the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior

classes of this sampling frame. The methods of subject selection and testing were

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approved (see Appendix B) by the Human Subjects Committee at California State

University, Chico.

Collection of Data

The researcher contacted the subjects by e-mail at which time they were

sent a letter of introduction, an informed consent agreement, and the research

questionnaire. To maintain anonymity, the follow-up e-mail was sent to all

members of the sample three weeks after the initial e-mail. The follow-up e-mail

included a new copy of the questionnaire and a letter thanking those who may

have already completed the survey and encouraging those who had not to do so.

A second follow-up e-mail had been initially planned, but due to time and

financial constraints was not implemented.

Organization and Interpretation of Data

The questionnaires were examined for multiple markings or other

evidence of discrepancies which could have invalidated them for the purposes of

this study. All questionnaires which had been filled-out properly were then

processed.

Appropriate statistical analyses were used to determine if there was a

significant relationship between drug abuse and mental health. Further analyses

were conducted to determine if there was a significant relationship between drug

abuse and mental health.

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 References

Bandiera, F., Loukas, A., Wilkinson, A., & Perry, C. (2016). Associations

between tobacco and nicotine product use and depressive symptoms

among college students in Texas. Addictive Behaviors, 63, 19-22.

Boehm, M., Lei, Q., Lloyd, R., & Prichard, J. (2016). Depression, Anxiety, and

Tobacco Use: Overlapping Impediments to Sleep in a National Sample of

College Students. Journal of American College Health, 64(7), 565-574.

Claros, E. & Sharma, M. (2012). The relationship between emotional intelligence

and abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco among college

students. Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 56(1), 8-37.

Gilbert, D., Stunkard, M., Jensen, R., Detwiler, F., & Martinko, J. (1996). Effects

of exam stress on mood, cortisol, and immune functioning: Influences of

neuroticism and smoker-non-smoker status. Personality and Individual

Differences, 21(2), 235-246.

Goodwin, R., Grinberg, A., Shapiro, J., Keith, D., Mcneil, M., Taha, F., Jiang, B.,

& Hart, C. (2014). Hookah use among college students: Prevalence, drug

use, and mental health. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 141, 16-20.

Kenney, S., DiGuiseppi, G., Meisel, M., Balestrieri, S., & Barnett, N. (2018).

Poor mental health, peer drinking norms, and alcohol risk in a social

network of first-year college students. Addictive Behaviors, 84, 151.

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McChargue, D., Cohen, L., & Cook, J. (2004). Attachment and Depression

Differentially Influence Nicotine Dependence Among Male and Female

Undergraduates: A Preliminary Study. Journal of American College

Health, 53(1), 5-10.

Mee, S. (2014). Self-efficacy: A mediator of smoking behavior and depression

among college students. (Continuing Nursing Education) (Clinical

report). Pediatric Nursing, 40(1), 9-15, 37.

Nordqvist, C. (2017). Mental health: Definition, common disorders, and early

signs. Retrieved from

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154543.php

Schleicher, H., Harris, K., Catley, D., & Nazir, N. (2009). The Role of Depression

and Negative Affect Regulation Expectancies in Tobacco Smoking among

College Students. Journal of American College Health, 57(5), 507-512.

Xu, Y., Qi, J., Yang, Y., & Wen, X. (2016). The contribution of lifestyle factors

to depressive symptoms: A cross-sectional study in Chinese college

students. Psychiatry Research, 245, 243-249

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 Appendix A

Questionnaire will be placed here a total of 30 questions.

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