Substance use, common mental disorders, and suicidal ideation in psychology students

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine how common mental disorders (CMDs) and substance use affect suicidal ideation among students of psychology, while controlling for the effect of demographic variables. The following specific objectives were outlined: (a) to observe the prevalence of CMDs; and (b) to identify the substance use profile among the participants. The study included psychology students from a Federal University located in the countryside of Ceará, Brazil (n = 121). This is a quantitative, cross-sectional study with a correlational design. The following instruments were applied: the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI). A multiple linear regression analysis was performed, with suicidal ideation as the dependent variable. It was found that 60.3% of the participants showed signs indicative of CMDs. The most commonly used psychoactive substances identified in the study were alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco, which also had the highest number of medium- and high-risk cases. The average score for suicidal ideation was 3 points (SD: 5.62). Students with higher CMD scores were associated with higher suicidal ideation scores. Students with non-heteronormative sexual orientations showed higher average scores for suicidal ideation compared to heterosexual students. Conversely, students with higher alcohol use scores had lower averages on the outcome variable. The findings indicate that psychology students experience a high level of psychological distress, as reflected in elevated CMD and suicidal ideation scores.