Engaging a new way of battling substance abuse and depression

Updated 10:00 AM July 6, 2004

Engaging a new way of battling substance abuse and depression

By Kevin Bergquist

University staff members concerned about a growing problem on college campuses hope to begin a dialogue about how administration and faculty can help students battle substance abuse and depression in new ways.

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is sponsoring a multi-year initiative to advance the academic community's interest, support and appreciation of engaged student learning strategies—service-learning or collaborative undergraduate research—and to determine how and to what extent doing so addresses positively the development, behaviors and health of students.

Todd Sevig, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, headed a team of U-M staffers that attended the AAC&U April conference in Chicago, "Bringing Theory to Practice: Depression, Substance Abuse, and College Student Engagement."

The team included Barry Checkoway, professor of social work and urban planning and member of the AAC&U planning group; Sean McCabe, assistant research scientist and director at the Substance Abuse Center; and Monita Thompson, co-director of The Program on Intergroup Relations.

Thompson defines student engagement as active participation and learning with other students, faculty and staff, and the surrounding community. She says it includes curricular and co-curricular learning—course and lab work, student organizational membership and leadership, community service learning, and athletics.

"The topic of student engagement and mental health is timely," Thompson says. "The conference was just the beginning of thinking about how to create linkages. We need to be aware of the pitfalls around the mental health of the over-engaged student, as well as talking about the benefits of student engagement on mental health."

The group has discussed how alcohol use, mental health issues and engaged student learning interact. The hypothesis, Sevig says, is that engaged student learning can decrease alcohol use and the effects of depression and mental health issues.

"In spite of efforts to reduce alcohol abuse and binge drinking, the statistics are staying the same or rising on many campuses. A more recent trend is a rise in depression and mental health issues for college students," Sevig says. "Every university and college has seen an increase in the quantity of students dealing with these problems. Our question is: Can one of the things we do very well—engaged student learning—help this?"

The AAC&U cites studies showing that in 2002, 58.9 percent of college students drank alcohol and 37 percent used an illicit drug, such as marijuana. In addition, two-fifths of college students frequently felt overwhelmed, and close to half reported having experienced depression since beginning college.

"Everyone agrees that mental health is an important issue to address among college students. Our belief is that engagement and interaction can promote healthier behaviors and better mental health," Checkoway says. "At a time when many faculty members have de-emphasized their teaching in favor of research, engaging faculty will be instrumental in this effort."

Sevig says the group will discuss the issue more this summer. He says the University may apply for grants offered by the Charles Engelhard Foundation, the sponsor of the conference.

Engaging a new way of battling substance abuse and depression

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