Socio-Emotional Variables Linked to the Consumption of Drugs amongst University Students of Social Sciences: A Pilot Study.

José Luis Rodríguez-Sáez,Alfonso Salgado-Ruiz,Miguel Ángel Carbonero,Luis J Martín-Antón

doi:10.3390/ijerph18094502

Abstract

This descriptive and transversal study, carried out on an intentional sample of 211 subjects who were split in terms of their consumption of psychoactive substances over the last month and who were aged between 18 and 28 (M = 21.36, and SD = 1.90), aimed to explore the emotional intelligence, perceived socio-family support and academic performance of university students vis-à-vis their consumption of drugs and to examine the link between them. The goal was to define university student consumer profile through a regression model using the multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale (EMAS) and the Trait Meta Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) as instruments, together with academic performance and gender. The results report alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis consumption rates that are above the levels indicated by the Spanish household survey on alcohol and drugs in Spain (EDADES 2019) for the 15–34-year-old age range in Castilla y León. A certain link was observed between the consumption of substances and academic performance, although no differences were seen in academic performance in terms of consumer type. There was also no clear link observed between emotional intelligence and academic performance or between social support and academic performance. The predictive contribution of the variables included in the regression model was low (9%), which would advocate completing the model with other predictive variables until more appropriate predictability conditions can be found.

Highlights

The major cultural, political, and economic changes that have triggered a significant shift in the life cycle of human development, coupled with the economic crisis that has affected developed countries since 2008, have further deepened the negative effects of reaching adulthood
The general aim of this work was to explore emotional intelligence, perceived sociofamily support, and academic performance of university students who are pursuing a degree in social sciences, in terms of their attitudes and consumption patterns of psychoactive substances, and to determine whether worse results in emotional intelligence are linked to poor performance and greater use of substances and whether perceived low social support is associated with worse academic performance and greater use of substances
Results are shown in four sub-sections: consumption of substances, emotional intelligence, academic performance in relation to emotional intelligence, and perceived social support

Summary

Introduction

The major cultural, political, and economic changes that have triggered a significant shift in the life cycle of human development, coupled with the economic crisis that has affected developed countries since 2008, have further deepened the negative effects of reaching adulthood. One effect of these changes has been the ever-increasing difficulties youngsters face in fulfilling their expectations of success: leaving the family home at a later age, staying in education longer, and becoming a parent at a later age.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion