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

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.

Keywords:

• alcohol abuse
• college students
• gender differences
• mental illness
• prescription-type drug misuse