Center on Young Adult Health and Development, Department of Family Science,University of Maryland School of Public Health, 1142 School of Public Health Building,College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Psychiatr Serv. 2013 Feb 1;64(2):165-72. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201200106.
This study examined the prospective relationship of substance use and mental health problems with risk of discontinuous enrollment in college.
Participants were 1,145 students at a large public university who were interviewed annually for four years beginning at college entry in 2004 (year 1). Discontinuous enrollment was defined as a gap in enrollment of one or more semesters during the first two years (early discontinuity) or the second two years (late discontinuity) versus continuous enrollment throughout all four years. Explanatory variables measured in year 1 were scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory, childhood conduct problems, cannabis use, number of illicit drugs used, and alcohol consumption. In years 3 and 4, participants reported lifetime history of clinically diagnosed attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety, including age at diagnosis. Multinomial logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the association between the independent variables and discontinuous enrollment while holding constant background characteristics.
Higher BDI scores predicted early discontinuity but not late discontinuity, whereas cannabis and alcohol use predicted only late discontinuity. Receiving a depression diagnosis during college was associated with both early and late discontinuity. Self-reported precollege diagnoses were not related to discontinuous enrollment once background characteristics were taken into account.
Students who experience depressive symptoms or seek treatment for depression during college might be at risk of interruptions in their college enrollment. Cannabis use and heavy drinking appear to add to this risk. Students entering college with preexisting psychiatric diagnoses are not necessarily at risk of enrollment interruptions.
本研究考察了物质使用和心理健康问题与大学中断学业风险的前瞻性关系。
参与者为一所大型公立大学的 1145 名学生，他们从 2004 年（第 1 年）大学入学开始，每年接受一次为期四年的访谈。不连续入学被定义为在头两年（早期不连续）或后两年（晚期不连续）期间有一个或多个学期的入学中断，而连续四年都有入学。第 1 年测量的解释变量包括贝克抑郁量表（BDI）和贝克焦虑量表的分数、儿童期品行问题、大麻使用、使用非法药物的数量和酒精摄入量。在第 3 年和第 4 年，参与者报告了一生中被临床诊断为注意力缺陷多动障碍、抑郁和焦虑的病史，包括诊断年龄。采用多项逻辑回归模型评估独立变量与不连续入学之间的关联，同时控制背景特征。
较高的 BDI 分数预测了早期中断，但不预测晚期中断，而大麻和酒精使用仅预测晚期中断。在大学期间被诊断出抑郁症与早期和晚期中断都有关。一旦考虑到背景特征，自我报告的大学前诊断与不连续入学无关。
在大学期间经历抑郁症状或寻求抑郁治疗的学生可能有中断学业的风险。大麻使用和酗酒似乎会增加这种风险。进入大学时就有精神科诊断的学生不一定有中断入学的风险。
