College students rarely seek help despite serious substance use problems

Caldeira, Kimberly M.; Kasperski, Sarah J.; Sharma, Eva; Vincent, Kathryn B.; O'Grady, Kevin E.; Wish, Eric D.; Arria, Amelia M.

doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2009.04.005

« Previous Next »Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume 37, Issue 4 , Pages 368-378, December 2009

College students rarely seek help despite serious substance use problems

Kimberly M. Caldeira, M.S.
- Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Sarah J. Kasperski, M.A.
- Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Eva Sharma, B.Pharm.
- Center for Health Behavior Research, Department of Public and Community Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Kathryn B. Vincent, M.A.
- Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Kevin E. O'Grady, Ph.D.
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Eric D. Wish, Ph.D.
- Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Amelia M. Arria, Ph.D.
- Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
- Treatment Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
- Corresponding author. Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), University of Maryland, 4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 501, College Park, MD 20740, USA. Tel.: +1 301 405 9795; fax: +1 301 403 8342.

Received 20 February 2009; received in revised form 20 April 2009; accepted 28 April 2009. published online 25 June 2009.

Abstract

The prevalence of substance use disorders (SUD) and aspects of the help-seeking process among a high-risk sample of 946 students at one large public university were assessed in personal interviews during the first 3 years of college. After statistically adjusting for purposive sampling, an estimated 46.8%_wt of all third-year students met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for SUD involving alcohol and/or marijuana at least once. Of 548 SUD cases, 3.6% perceived a need for help with substance use problems; 16.4% were encouraged by someone else to seek help. Help-seeking was rare among SUD cases (8.8%) but significantly elevated among individuals who perceived a need (90.0%) or experienced social pressures from parents (32.5%), friends (34.2%), or another person (58.3%). Resources accessed for help included educational programs (37.8%), health professionals (27.0%), and 12-step programs (18.9%). College students have high rates of substance use problems but rarely recognize a need for treatment or seek help. Results highlight the opportunity for early intervention with college students with SUD.

Keywords: Treatment-seeking, Help-seeking, College students, Substance use disorder, Longitudinal studies