Correlation between Stress, Self-Esteem, and Drug Use in College StudentsGiselle Ortiz

Eastern Connecticut State University

Introduction• Recently, as of 2013, illicit drug use rates are at 22.3% in full-time college students and 23% in

part-time college students (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, 2014).

• Twenty-six percent of male full-time and part-time students were current drug users, while 19.2% were female full-time and part-time students. Drug use was highest in the White population of students with 25.1%, followed by Hispanic students at 21.5%, Black students at 19.7% and Asian students were 9.4% (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, 2014).

• Students may use alcohol and drugs as an escape from new pressures formed through temptations to tests limits because of their freedom. Due to this, excessive alcohol and drug use can lead to lack of sleep, interrupted studies, insults and humiliation, physical altercations, damage of property, and sexual and physical assault (Ross & DeJong, 2008).

• Lower self-esteem, more drinking motives, and heavier drinking behaviors are found in students who have used multiple times in the past three months while in college. Students with higher self-esteem reported using less (Lewis, Neighbors, & Phillippi, 2007).

• Students who experience high levels of stress tend to have higher rates of tobacco use, high-risk drinking, and marijuana use (Lust et al., 2010).

HypothesesI hypothesized that: 1. Self-esteem will have a significant negative

correlation with drug use. More specifically, the higher the self-esteem, the lower the drug use.

2. Stress will have a significant positive correlation with drug use. More specifically, the higher the stress levels, the higher the drug use.

MethodsParticipantsA sample was collected from Eastern Connecticut State University. These participants were chosen through convenience sampling or sign-ups through Experimetrix. There was a total of 27 participants, 17 women and 10 men between 18 to 24 years old, (M=19.22). Statistics for class ranking are as follows: 70 % Freshman, 11% Juniors and Seniors, and 7% Sophomores. Statistics for ethnicity are as follows: 66% Caucasian/White, 14% African American/Black, 11% Hispanic/Latino, and 7% Asian.MeasuresStress. The Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983)Self-esteem. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965)Drug Use. Drug Use Questionnaire (DAST-20) (Skinner, 1982) ProcedureStudents taking any Psychology course offered through Eastern Connecticut State University were able to sign up to participate in this experiment using the Universities Psychology Experimetrix website. Other participants were asked to participate through convenient sampling, mostly Freshman residential students that lived in a residents hall of ECSU. Students reported to Webb Hall 100 . After providing consent to participate, participants were given 30 minutes to complete the survey packet, which contained a demographic form, The Perceived Stress Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Drug Use Questionnaire (DAST-20). Once finished, they were handed a Debriefing Form and a referral list that contained resources on campus that the student may use if they feel as if they have a substance abuse problem.

ResultsDue to a bimodal distribution, a median split was performed on the drug use sum of scores variable. The median was 3.00 and the data was split to indicate participants who scored above the median and those who scored below the median. Eighteen participants scored above the median and 9 participants scored below the median. An Independent samples t-test was conducted to indicate if there was significance between levels of stress and self-esteem with the drug use groups.• Stress was higher in the drug use group (M=2.41) (SD=.912) than the no drug

use group (M=2.4090) (SD=.749). • Self-esteem was also higher in the drug use group (M= 1.44) (SD=.044) than the

no drug use group (M=1.42) (SD=.034).• There was no significance with stress levels and drug use groups, t(25)= -.008, p=.642 with a small effect size of 0.0028.• There was no significance with self-esteem and drug use groups, t(24)= -1.25, p=.191 with a medium effect size of 0.495. • The data failed to support the notion of stress and self-esteem on drug use.

DiscussionThe purpose of this study was to find a correlation between self-esteem, stress, and drug use. It was hypothesized that high levels of stress would have a positive correlation with drug use and self-esteem would have a significantly negative correlation with drug use. Due to a bimodal distribution in the drug use variable, an Independent t-test was used instead of a Pearson’s r correlation. Results showed no consistency with the hypothesis. Stress levels and self-esteem showed no significance with drug use. Self-esteem had a medium effect size, which could indicate that a higher number of participants could show significance. Weaknesses:• Number of participants was low• Maturation: participants asked through convenient sampling have a personal

relationship with the researchers and because of this some of the participants may have lied in the DAST-20.

• DAST-20 was not the best questionnaire to use to asset drug use• Mortality: one participant did not answer the stress survey.Further Research:This research can help college campuses be more aware of the reasons whydrug use has become so significant in recent years. Further research can include the types of stress a student may be under and can also be done as a longitudinal study by collecting data in the beginning of the year and towards the end of the year. More research can also look at the differences in stress, self-esteem, and drug use between genders and class rank.

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