Anxiety and depression and psychoactive substance abuse in university students

Abstract

Objective: to identify the frequency of anxiety, depression and use of psychoactive substances in university students. Method: cross-sectional study. Data were collected using the anxiety and
depression hospital scale and questions on the use of psychoactive substances. Results: students from the first to the six terms of a private college specialized in health care in the northeastern
region in Brazil were interviewed. A sociodemographic questionnaire was used to characterize the population and the use of psychoactive substances, in addition to the Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale. One hundred and sixteen students participated, and 51.72 % reported using some psychoactive substance, especially alcohol. Anxiety symptoms were present in 28.45% of the participants and depression in 16.38%. Conclusion: the study showed data that were in agreement with those in other studies on this type of population, identifying a higher frequency of substance use by students with anxiety symptoms.