Substance use and psychological disorders among art and non-art university students: an empirical self-report survey

Iszáj, F, Kapitány-Fövény, M, Farkas, J, Kökönyei, G, Urbán, R, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524 and Demetrovics, Z, 2018. Substance use and psychological disorders among art and non-art university students: an empirical self-report survey. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 16, pp. 125-135. ISSN 1557-1874

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Abstract

Media stories often suggest that those working in the creative arts appear to use and abuse psychoactive substances. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the use of psychoactive substances and the presence of psychological disorders among art and non-art students. Questionnaires related to these two areas were completed by 182 art students in higher education and a control group of 704 non-art university students. To assess psychoactive substance use, a structured questionnaire including the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was administered to participants. Psychological disorders were assessed using the Hungarian version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Global Severity Index (GSI). After analyzing the data, significant differences were found between the two groups regarding their first use of psychoactive substances. Art students' current substance use was found to be significantly more frequent compared to the control group. In relation to psychological disorders, art students scored significantly higher on three scales of the BSI (i.e., psychoticism, hostility, and phobic anxiety). Overall, a significantly higher proportion of artists were labeled as "problematic" using the GSI. The results suggest that artists have a higher risk of both substance use and experiencing psychological disorders.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
Creators:	Iszáj, F., Kapitány-Fövény, M., Farkas, J., Kökönyei, G., Urbán, R., Griffiths, M.D. and Demetrovics, Z.
Publisher:	Springer
Date:	February 2018
Volume:	16
ISSN:	1557-1874
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s11469-017-9812-5 DOI 9812 Publisher Item Identifier
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	03 Oct 2017 08:47
Last Modified:	15 May 2018 11:02
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/31777

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