The Perfect Storm? COVID-19 and Substance Use amongst Social Work Students in the USA

This study examined the associations between substance use and socio-demographic characteristics, mental health and preventive behaviours amongst US undergraduate and graduate social work students. Data were collected via an online survey from 457 social work students studying in various programmes, between July and August 2020. The survey was designed to elicit information on students' use of alcohol, cigarettes, vaping products and marijuana over the previous thirty days. Patterns of substance use and the associated behaviours were assessed using univariate and bivariate analyses. The outcomes revealed that a significant number of the students drank alcohol (71 per cent), engaged in binge drinking (35 per cent) and used marijuana (25 per cent). The outcomes also revealed significant associations amongst socio-demographic characteristics, substance use and mental health. This study's findings could inform the development of social work programmes that assist students in adopting positive coping strategies and mitigating health risk behaviours, both during the current COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. During the COVID-19 pandemic, health risk behaviours related to substance use have been recognised as a significant public health concern amongst university students. Understanding the mechanisms of substance use behaviours, including those used to cope with COVID-19-related stressors, is imperative to curate targeted prevention efforts. To that end, we examined substance use prevalence and its associations with socio-demographic characteristics, preventive behaviours, and mental health amongst US social work students. We collected data from 457 students across all degree levels (BSW, MSW and PhD) from July to August 2020 through an online survey, to examine thirty-day patterns of substance use behaviours related to cigarettes, electronic vapour products, alcohol, binge drinking and marijuana. Univariate and bivariate analyses revealed high rates of substance use behaviours, particularly alcohol use (71 per cent), binge drinking (35 per cent) and marijuana use (25 per cent). Findings also revealed significant associations amongst substance use, socio-demographic characteristics, and mental health. Amongst other implications, our study should encourage social work programmes to promote positive coping strategies amongst students and foster substance abuse prevention efforts, both to mitigate health risk behaviours and to enhance student well-being, both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.