Association between Current Substance Use, Healthy Behaviors, and Depression among Ukrainian College Students

Depression is a pervasive issue among college students worldwide, yet there is a significant gap in the literature regarding its prevalence and coping strategies in the Ukrainian context. The present study aims to fill this gap by investigating how substance use and health-promoting behaviors relate to depressive symptoms among Ukrainian college students. Health-promoting behaviors are an important strategy to prevent depression, whereas substance use can contribute to depression or make it harder to manage. Given the substantial psychosocial problems and stressors related to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the limited availability of mental health services for college students, it is important to understand how we can encourage college students to keep themselves mentally healthy. A cross-sectional study was conducted among college students on 10 campuses in 2018. Almost 16% of participants met a cut-off for depression. Female students and those who were older reported significantly higher depressive symptoms. Participants were more likely to report depressive symptoms if they were more often involved with alcohol and cannabis use, were older, and engaged in fewer health-promoting behaviors. Tobacco use was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest a moderate prevalence of depressive symptoms in our study population. We recommend implementing balanced public health interventions that address risk factors (such as substance use) while also promoting protective behaviors and can be tailored to the specific cultural and environmental context of the region.