Student Research Report: COVID-19 and Effects on Substance Use and Mental Health
In Spring 2021, students in Dr. Emily Stark’s Research Methods and Design course completed multiple hands-on data collection projects. They were also assigned a blog paper where they discussed one of the topics they chose to research and explained their findings to a general audience. The goal of this was to give students an opportunity to explore a different form of writing from APA-style research papers. Some of these blog papers will be featured here throughout the summer to showcase the students’ findings. Please feel free to contact Dr. Stark through the contact form on this site for additional information about this course or the assignments used.
By Samantha Bloomquist
I think it’s safe to say that this has been one of the most stressful, impactful, and overall craziest years most of us college students have experienced. The events that have taken place during the past year have put a huge toll on our lives, especially on our health. With the Coronavirus limiting us from visiting our loved ones, leaving our houses, and feeling like a part of society in general, we are bound to feel like our mental health is taking a hit.
According to Leshner (2021), there was a survey that was conducted before and after the pandemic regarding the increasing rates of mental health issues and as it turns out, about 40% of 300,000 students reported that they have experienced a mental health issue at some point in their lives! In the fall of 2020, there was a 15% increase in these same mental health problems, most commonly being depression. Leshner (2021) also mentioned that about 60% of students who were experiencing this were having trouble finding help in their communities or college campuses. Crazy to think about, right? It’s important to remember that we are not alone and that many people want to help. But what if therapy is too expensive? What if our parents just wouldn’t understand? Or what if we simply are scared to make the first step into acknowledging that we need help? Lucky for us, there are many kinds of resources that are available for those who need them.
Most colleges offer free counseling sessions so if you’re currently enrolled in school, you may be able to receive help for no cost! Another great way to reach out is by contacting support and text message lines such as the Crisis Text Line where you can text “EMM” to 741741 to speak to a trained counselor with confidentiality. This option would be great for those who are especially nervous to talk about what's going on in their lives, so knowing your thoughts will be kept private while anonymously seeking help is an attractive option for treatment. Believe it or not, it is said that talking to your friends and partners may be more important and helpful than talking to your family and that this social support from your friends is linked to a lower chance of depression (Hefner & Eisenberg, 2009).
Now that we covered a few ways that are helpful to cope with our struggles, I would like to discuss another common way people like to deal with this as well, which is the increasing use of substances, whether it’s consuming alcohol, smoking marijuana, or vaping. What was once a fun, occasional night out drinking with friends is beginning to turn into a routine for some college students. There are many risks that are associated with substance use that they may forget about.
I was curious to see if college students at Minnesota State University, Mankato were smoking, vaping, and drinking more often as they steered away from the COVID-19 guidelines that have been established, so I decided to investigate it a little deeper and do some research for my project in my research methods and design course. There was a total of 122 people who completed a survey that was distributed via email. The results I found indicated that there was in fact an increase in substance use and that the more people who chose to disobey the social-distancing rules, the more people are consuming alcohol, smoking weed, and vaping as well.
Now that we know mental illnesses have been on the rise ever since the Coronavirus hit, we are able to see how important it is to seek treatment in healthy ways, instead of turning to bad and dangerous habits. If you feel like the stress of college, COVID, or anything else happening in your life is beginning to take a heavy toll on you, reach out for help because you are not alone!
References
Hefner, J., & Eisenberg, D. (2009). Social support and mental health among college students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 79(4), 491-499. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.mnsu.edu/10.1037/a0016918
Leshner, A. I. (2021). Target student mental well-being. Science, 371(6527), 325–325.
https://doi-org.ezproxy.mnsu.edu/10.1126/science.abg5770