Latent subtypes of substance use among students in higher education and group differences in mental health outcomes.
Background: Students in higher education face unique challenges that can increase their vulnerability to substance use. However, prevention and intervention efforts can be challenging due to their heterogeneous nature, which entails diverse substance use patterns and types. Methods: To provide a mor...
| Published in: | Journal of Substance Use Vol. 31; no. 3; pp. 410 - 418 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jun2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=193710448&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 193710448 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 14659891 ILV jtl: Journal of Substance Use issn: 14659891 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jun2026 vid: 31 iid: 3 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 193710448 187083380 193710448 193710448 10.1080/14659891.2025.2539864 193710448 ppf: 410 ppct: 8 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Latent subtypes of substance use among students in higher education and group differences in mental health outcomes. aug: au: Jeong, Jeongwoon Lee, Jungeun Nam, Sojeong Lee, Donghun Na, GoEun affil: Department of Individual, Family, and Community Education, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA sug: subj: Substance Use Disorders Psychosocial Factors Students, College Psychosocial Factors Mental Health Depression Psychosocial Factors Anxiety Psychosocial Factors Suicidal Ideation Psychosocial Factors Human Funding Source Male Female Young Adult Structural Equation Modeling Kruskal-Wallis Test Alcohol Drinking Risk Assessment Health Behavior Colleges and Universities United States United States Age Factors Sex Factors Race Factors Ethnic Groups Educational Status Secondary Analysis Scales Questionnaires Coefficient alpha Post Hoc Analysis Descriptive Statistics Data Analysis Software Male Female ab: Background: Students in higher education face unique challenges that can increase their vulnerability to substance use. However, prevention and intervention efforts can be challenging due to their heterogeneous nature, which entails diverse substance use patterns and types. Methods: To provide a more nuanced understanding, this study aimed to identify distinct subtypes of substance use among 91,321 students in higher education (Mage = 23.69 years, SDage = 6.79) through latent class analysis. Subsequently, differences in mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and suicidality, among the identified latent subtypes were examined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: These analyses identified four latent subtypes: all-use (n = 2,307, 2.5%), moderate-use (n = 9,395, 10.3%), legal-substance (n = 32,761, 35.9%), and alcohol-only (n = 46,858, 51.3%) and found significant group differences in mental health outcomes, indicating varying needs and levels of risk. Implications and recommendations for counseling professionals and researchers are also discussed. Conclusion: This study identified four distinct subtypes of substance use among college students, each with unique mental health profiles related to depression, anxiety, and suicidality. By offering a clearer typology, the findings support more tailored prevention and intervention strategies for counselors and researchers.. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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