College Student Use of 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for Substance Use Limited
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Feb. 26, 2024 -- College students are less likely to use the new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for substance use than for other mental health concerns, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in the Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling.
Afroze N. Shaikh, from Georgia State University in Atlanta, and colleagues examined the potential for the new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which offers free 24/7 crisis support, for addressing the low levels of help-seeking for students with substance use.
The researchers found that among a sample of 446 college students, more frequent substance use significantly predicted lower help-seeking intentions for suicidal thoughts. Compared with other mental health concerns, students were least likely to use the lifeline for substance use concerns.
"These findings highlight the need to assess public messaging campaigns specific to helplines, and the 988 Lifeline in particular, in order to impact both help-seeking intentions and behavior," the authors write. "Despite the availability of services, further efforts may be needed in order to make this known to the public and across college campuses."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted February 2024
Read this next
One in Six Primary Care Patients Report Cannabis Use
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- One in six adult primary care patients report using cannabis, according to a study published online June 5 in JAMA Network Open. Lillian Gelberg...
Risk of Suicide, Homicide Both Higher at Night
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- The risk of suicide and homicide is higher at night than might be expected based on the number of people awake at that time, according to a study published...
Social Media Use Tied to Depression, but Not Sole Cause in Young Adults
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- Social media use and depression are associated, but social media use is not prospectively related to the course of depressive symptoms, according to a...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.