Perceived stress, substance use, and mental health issues among college students in the Midwest

Perceived stress and mental health on college campuses is a major concern. College students are under a tremendous strain. This study was designed to measure the perceived stress among Whites and Nonwhites using the Perceived Stress Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revise...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of prevention & intervention in the community 2021-07, Vol.49 (3), p.221-234
Main Authors: Stowell, David, Lewis, Rhonda K., Brooks, Keyondra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College students
depression
Diet
Epidemiology
health behaviors
Measures
Mental depression
Mental health
Nutrition
Stress
Substance abuse
Well being
White people
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Summary:Perceived stress and mental health on college campuses is a major concern. College students are under a tremendous strain. This study was designed to measure the perceived stress among Whites and Nonwhites using the Perceived Stress Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised, Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) and other behavioral indicators (diet and nutrition) to determine the overall well-being of college students. College students attending a mid-sized University in the Midwest completed an 80 item online survey. The results showed that thirty-six percent of the sample displayed depressive symptoms, 10% of the respondents endorsed high perceived stress and 56% reported experiencing moderate stress levels. Females had higher levels of perceived stress than males and Whites displayed statistically significant lower depression scores than Nonwhites although Whites displayed significantly higher mean scores on the CES-D-R depression scores than Nonwhites. Overall, fruit intake of college students was as an indication of poor diet and nutrition among college students because they were not eating fruit in their diets prior to taking the survey. Limitations and future directions will be explored.
ISSN:1085-2352
1540-7330
DOI:10.1080/10852352.2019.1654263