DEPRESSION AND ALCOHOL MISUSE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract

Young adults suffer from high rates of depression and alcohol consumption. From 2005 to 2019,the rate of a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) almost doubled among adults ages 18 to 25. Inaddition, young adults had the highest rates of binge drinking at 34.3% with 8.4% reportingheavy alcohol use within the past month. As a result, this paper reviews key studies ondepression and alcohol misuse in college students in order to outline the extent of therelationship as well as any current gaps in the current literature. Overall results suggest thatalcohol misuse and depression is mixed. Some studies observed an association between heavyalcohol consumption and depression, but other studies did not observe this association. Somestudies identified an association between depression and other alcohol-related variables, such asalcohol-related problems. Though many studies researched gender differences, there is onlyextremely modest evidence for modification of the relationship between alcohol and depressionby gender. Overall, longitudinal studies are necessary to further understand the relationshipbetween alcohol and depression.