INFLUENCE OF STRESS AND SUBSTANCE USE ON MENTAL HEALTH OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

The present study examined influence of stress and substance use on mental health of undergraduate students. Participants were one hundred and two (102) undergraduate students of Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu comprising males 67 and females 35 drawn from four faculties. Their ages ranged between 17 to 28 years with a mean age of 21.27 years (SD = 3.36). Cross sectional survey design was adopted in this study. Two instruments were used for data collection. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) (Tennant et al., 2007), Drug Use Questionnaire (DAST – 20, SKINNER, 1982); and Perceived Stress Scale by Cohen (1994). Two hypotheses were tested. Multiple regression was the main statistic used for data analysis. Results of Multiple Regression analysis showed that stress is a significant predictor of mental health of undergraduates. The result showed that substance use is not a significant predictor of mental health among undergraduates. A practical implication of the findings is that stress has proven to be a potential factor that can change mental health of young people if not checked. That mental issues among young people as undergraduates cannot be explained through substance use. Limitations and Suggestions for further studies were equally made.