The Role of Mental Illness in Alcohol Abuse and Prescription Drug Misuse: Gender-Specific Analysis of College Students

Celia C. Lo Ph.D. School of Social Work, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USACorrespondence[email protected]

Allison N. Monge B.A. Department of Criminal Justice, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

Rebecca J. Howell Ph.D. Department of Criminal Justice, Charleston Southern University, Charleston, SC, USA

Tyrone C. Cheng Ph.D.L.C.S.W.P.I.P. School of Social Work, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

Abstract

The present study examined whether and how collegians' misuse of prescription drugs and alcohol abuse are associated with mental illness and with a lack of mental health care. Nationally representative data were derived from 5,241 full-time American college students who completed the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. We observed the presence of alcohol abuse/dependence and the nonmedical use of prescription drugs to be associated with relatively serious mental illness and with lack of health care. In pursuing gender-specific results, we found that the association between alcohol abuse and mental illness was stronger among females than males.

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