Substance Use Behaviors in the Daily Lives of U.S. College Students Reporting Recent Use: The Varying Roles of Romantic Relationships

Cross-cultural psychology can benefit from the incorporation of psychological situations and the investigation of how cultural influences are manifested in our daily lives. In this chapter, we review the current literature on cross-cultural assessments of situations under the framework of cues (objective attributes of a situation), characteristics (meaning or interpretation of cues), and classes (groups of situations based on cues or characteristics). Cultural situational cues, such as the weather or population density, vary both in frequency and in interpretation across countries. Characteristics of situations differ in the meaning individuals ascribe to cues, the affective response to situations based on culture socialization, and the amount of agency or autonomy perceived in situations. Lastly, classes of situations (e.g., education settings, the workplace, romantic relationships), provide a useful method of grouping common situations for understanding cultural differences.

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It Is Your Decision to Date Interracially: The Influence of Family Approval on the Likelihood of Interracial/Interethnic Dating

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x21994130 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0192513X2199413

Author(s):

Byron Miller ◽

Savanah Catalina ◽

Sara Rocks ◽

Kathryn Tillman

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Young Adults ◽

Romantic Relationships ◽

Family Members ◽

Individual Level ◽

Interracial Romance ◽

Using Data ◽

Do So

Although attitudes toward interracial romantic relationships (IRRs) have generally improved over the years, many Americans still disapprove of their family members being in IRRs. Prior studies have examined correlates of individual-level attitudes about interracial romance, but less is known about whether family members’ attitudes are directly associated with young people’s decisions to date interracially. Using data collected from 790 romantically involved college students at two large public four-year universities, we find that young adults who believe their siblings, parents, and grandparents approve of IRRs have greater odds of dating interracially. Compared to Whites, Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to be interracially involved but their decision to do so is much less dependent on the approval of their parents and grandparents. We also find young adults are more likely to date interracially if they have five or more relatives with IRR experience themselves. The findings and their implications are discussed.

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College students’ experiences with substance use at electronic music events: A qualitative study

Journal of American College Health ◽

10.1080/07448481.2021.1904953 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Ashley Falcon ◽

Valerie A. Halstead ◽

Brian E. McCabe

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Substance Use ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Electronic Music

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Perfectionism, substance use, and mental health in college students: A longitudinal analysis

Journal of American College Health ◽

10.1080/07448481.2021.1891076 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Sarah K. Nelsen ◽

Alper Kayaalp ◽

Kyle J. Page

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

College Students ◽

Substance Use ◽

Longitudinal Analysis

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Prevalence and demographic, substance use, and mental health correlates of fasting among U.S. college students

Journal of Eating Disorders ◽

10.1186/s40337-021-00443-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kyle T. Ganson ◽

Rachel F. Rodgers ◽

Stuart B. Murray ◽

Jason M. Nagata

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

College Students ◽

Substance Use ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Drug Use ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Men And Women ◽

The Past ◽

Self Injury

Abstract Background Fasting is an unhealthy behavior that has been frequently used as part of weight loss attempts. To date, little research has been conducted to determine the prevalence and substance use and mental health correlates of fasting among college students. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and associations between any (≥ 1 time) and regular (≥ 13 times) occurrences of fasting in the past 4 weeks and substance use and mental health correlates among a large sample of college students from 2016 to 2020. Methods Data from four academic survey years (2016–2020; N = 8255) of the national (USA) Healthy Minds Study were analyzed. Unadjusted prevalence of any and regular fasting by survey year and gender was estimated. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the associations between any and regular fasting and the demographic (age, body mass index, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, highest parental education), substance use (cigarette use, marijuana use, other illicit drug use, alcohol use), and mental health (depression, anxiety, eating disorder symptoms, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury) correlates. Results Any fasting in the past 4 weeks was common among both men (14.77%) and women (18.12%) and significantly increased from 2016 (10.30%) to 2020 (19.81%) only among men. Regular fasting significantly increased among both men and women from 2016 (men: 1.46%; women: 1.79%) to 2020 (men: 3.53%; women: 6.19%). Among men and women, both any and regular fasting in the past 4 weeks were associated with higher odds of all mental health symptoms, including a positive depression, anxiety, and eating disorder screen, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-injury. Among women, but not men, any and regular fasting in the past 4 weeks were associated with higher odds of marijuana use and other illicit drug use (e.g., cocaine, ecstasy). Conclusions The results from this study underscore both the high and increasing prevalence of fasting among a national sample of college students, as well as the substance use and mental health symptoms associated with this behavior. Healthcare professionals both on and off campus should consider screening for fasting behaviors among college students and provide appropriate intervention when needed.

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