(PS1-53) The Relationship Between Trying Alcohol and Cigarettes and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Among Hispanic Emerging Adult College Students

Alcohol and tobacco are among the most commonly used substances by college students, contributing to significant health problems (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2022). Polysubstance use, defined as the concurrent use of multiple substances, is a significant public health concern, particularly among college-aged individuals. Prior research has observed elevated alcohol and cigarette use in Hispanic populations (Bandiera et al., 2019), yet there is limited research investigating the effects of using both substances within a Hispanic college student sample. This study investigated the relationship between polysubstance use of alcohol and cigarettes and mental health outcomes among Latinx college students.

Hispanic college students (n=324; M_age= 19.70 years, SD = 1.67; 77.4% female) were recruited via SONA System, a web-based recruitment website. After providing consent, participants completed questionnaires on sociodemographics, depression, anxiety, stress, and ever use of alcohol and cigarettes. A one-way MANCOVA assessed the associations between DASS and ever use of alcohol and cigarettes, controlling for sex and age.

The overall model was statistically significant (Wilks’ Λ=.961, F(6, 794) = 2.649, p= .015, η²=.02). Post hoc analyses indicated that non-users did not significantly differ from single substance users in terms of Depression (MD= -2.697, p</em>= .153), Anxiety (MD= -1.610, p= .559), and Stress (MD= -1.792, p</em>= .481). However, non-users significantly differed from polysubstance users in terms of Depression (MD= -6.900, p= < .001), Anxiety (MD= -4.677, p= .009), and Stress (MD= -4.986, p= .008). Polysubstance users significantly differed from single substance users in terms of Depression (MD= 4.204, p= .008), Anxiety (MD= 3.067, p= .039), and Stress (MD= 3.194, p= .040).

The significantly lower scores on depression, anxiety, and stress among non-users compared to polysubstance users suggest that individuals may use substances as a coping mechanism. Prior studies have identified coping with anxiety and depression as common use motives for tobacco and alcohol (Mahu et al., 2021). Significantly lower scores on depression, anxiety, and stress among single substance users compared to polysubstance users may further suggest a dose-response relationship, in which individuals experiencing poorer mental health attempt to cope with additional substances, as seen in prior literature (Nguyen et al., 2023). That these effects are observable based on ever use, rather than frequency of use, highlights the deleterious impact that ever trying substances has on mental health. Future studies should further investigate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between trying multiple substances and mental health outcomes, targeting use motives and the coping mechanisms individuals employ. This research has implications for the development of targeted prevention and intervention efforts to address polysubstance use among Latinx college students.