When they go to college, students are forced to adapt to a radically new lifestyle—one with less structure and more pressure. When the difficulty of managing college life becomes overwhelming, some students may turn to alcohol and drugs to cope. In fact, 1 in 4 college students meets the standard for substance abuse according to the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).

Sadly, alcohol and drug use are highly prevalent among young adults and college students. And the influence of social media cannot be understated. With binge-drinking trends like “BORG (blackout rage gallons) drinking” gaining traction on TikTok, trending content on social media can encourage students to abuse alcohol and drugs. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that:

• 12 million young adults aged 18 to 22 drank alcohol (54.8%)
• 7.8 million engaged in binge drinking (35.3%)
• More than 4.5 million used cannabis (20.7%)
• 299,000 used cocaine (1.4%)
• Nearly 6 million smoked cigarettes (26.7%)

A Psychiatric Times special report on substance misuse in college students notes that, over the past two decades, substance use trends have increased among college students. However, societal attitudes toward illicit substances have lessened at the same time. The brains of young adults are still developing during this stage of life, “leaving students at a heightened susceptibility to abnormalities on measures of brain functioning,” which increases risk factors for substance use disorders (SUD).

What causes college students to misuse alcohol and drugs

The shift in how illicit substances are viewed in society paired with the challenges associated with college life—separation from family, participation in new social networks, and intense academic pressures—can contribute to increased college drinking and drug misuse. The American Addiction Centers outlines several stressors that can cause college students to turn to different substances as a way of managing negative feelings.

• Social reasons: Drinking or drugs are commonly used in social situations. Some students use substances to reduce tension or social anxiety or to relax in social situations.
• Family history: Students have an increased risk of addiction when they have family members who have illicit/prescription drug or alcohol consumption issues.
• Beliefs about substance use: Some college students experience peer pressure or think it’s acceptable or normal to abuse substances as part of the college experience.
• Greek life: Studies have shown that members of fraternities and sororities have a much higher rate of binge drinking, substance abuse, and cigarette smoking.
• Academic performance: Poor academic performance can be both a cause and consequence of substance use.
• The difficult transition to college: For many people, college is a transition time between childhood and adulthood and can be the first time in life without parental supervision.
• Availability of drugs and alcohol: Often, substances can be easily accessed on college campuses. This easy access to drugs or alcohol can lead to an increased risk of substance abuse.

It’s 4:00 a.m. and she can’t sleep. Her freshman year is nothing like she thought it would be—financial worries, academic stress, and broken relationships. She needs to talk with someone, but who’s awake this early in the morning?

She remembers an app someone on campus mentioned, one that gives students free, 24/7 access to a behavioral health professional. Nervously, she downloads “TimelyCare” and clicks on “TalkNow.” Within minutes, she’s pouring her heart out to a certified professional who helps talk through the mental health struggles she’s experiencing. The behavioral health professional provides her with coping tools she can carry with throughout her college career.

“It felt better to be heard instead of silence, when I truly needed someone to talk to the most,” said the student.

This real story of a first-year student at Solano Community College in Fairfield, California, demonstrates a struggle more than half of students have during their college years. Thankfully, more students are using the growing number of available mental health services—which shows the evolution of the college mental health conversation among students.

What has changed in mental health for college students?

Research by the Healthy Minds Network in spring 2022 found that more than 50% of students met the criteria for one or more mental health conditions. And another study by Boston University, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, analyzed data collected by the Healthy Minds Network from more than 350,000 students across 373 campuses from 2013 to 2021. Researchers found that depression among college students increased by nearly 135% over eight years.

That same study found:

• Anxiety surged by 110%
• Eating disorders increased at a rate of nearly 96%
• Non-suicidal self-injury increased by almost 46%
• Suicidal ideation rose by 64%

Even though the prevalence of mental illness is on the rise, the stigma of seeking help has declined. The number of students seeking help at campus counseling centers increased by 40% between 2009 and 2015. It continued to rise until the global pandemic began, according to data from Penn State University’s Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH), a research-practice network of 700 college and university counseling centers. Of course, this increase has resulted in a shortage of trained professionals in colleges and universities—one certified counselor for every 1,000 to 2,000 students for small-to-moderate size schools and one certified counselor for every 2,000 to 3,500 students at universities.

Colleges and universities are allocating more resources for rapid access and assessment to address the increased workload of providers and keep students from slipping through the cracks. The goal is for students to walk in for same-day counseling services rather than be stuck on a waitlist. To that end, campuses are increasingly offering virtual resources to complement in-person counseling and support the mental health and well-being of college students.

For the higher education community, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is a chance to appreciate the many ways the academic experience is enriched by the contributions from Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Given the surge in hate incidents directed toward the AAPI community in the past year, higher education leaders can also offer help and inspire hope by supporting the mental health and well-being of AAPI college students.

Since the year 2000, AAPI college student enrollment increased 36%. Today, Asian American students and Pacific Islander students comprise nearly 20% of college students at four-year institutions and 14% of students at two-year institutions. While the AAPI population continues to grow on college campuses across America, research shows that they have the lowest help-seeking rate of any ethnicity, with only two out of 10 with mental illness receiving treatment.

Why don’t most AAPIs seek help for mental illness?

Culturally specific attitudes among AAPIs that stigmatize help-seeking include: