The association between substance use and depressive symptomatology in nursing university students in Mexico.

The present study represents an ex post facto non-experimental study of undergraduate nursing students (N = 1,176) residing in Mexico whereby we examined the association between substance use and depressive symptomatology. The sample was composed primarily of women (70.1%), between the ages of 18 and 23 years (89.5%). Outcomes suggest a significant association between current clinically relevant depressive symptomatology 3-month marijuana, alcohol, and sedative use. Additionally, current depressive symptomatology was significantly associated with lifetime alcohol and sedative use. Lastly, current depressive symptomatology was significantly associated with both moderate/high risk level due to alcohol and sedative use. The present study is innovative as it examines possible associations between depressive symptomatology and 10 classes of substances concurrently for a group that is largely understudied, further contributing to the international literature in this area. Findings are discussed with regards to study limitations.

Validity and Reliability of the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) in University Students.

The Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been used successfully in many countries, but there are few studies of its validity and reliability for the Mexican population. The objective of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the self-administered ASSIST test in university students in Mexico. This was an ex post facto non-experimental study with 1,176 undergraduate students, the majority women (70.1%) aged 18-23 years (89.5%) and single (87.5%). To estimate concurrent validity, factor analysis and tests of reliability and correlation were carried out between the subscale for alcohol and AUDIT, those for tobacco and the Fagerström Test, and those for marijuana and DAST-20. Adequate reliability coefficients were obtained for ASSIST subscales for tobacco (alpha = 0.83), alcohol (alpha = 0.76), and marijuana (alpha = 0.73). Significant correlations were found only with the AUDIT (r = 0.71) and the alcohol subscale. The best balance of sensitivity and specificity of the alcohol subscale (83.8% and 80%, respectively) and the largest area under the ROC curve (81.9%) was found with a cutoff score of 8. The self-administered version of ASSIST is a valid screening instrument to identify at-risk cases due to substance use in this population.

La Organización Mundial de la Salud desarrolló la Prueba de Detección de Consumo de Alcohol, Tabaco y Sustancias (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test [ASSIST]) que se ha empleado con éxito en muchos países. Sin embargo, hay pocos estudios acerca de su validez y fiabilidad en la población mexicana. El objetivo del estudio fue determinar las propiedades psicométricas de la versión autoaplicable del ASSIST. Para ello, se realizó un estudio no experimental, ex post facto con una muestra de 1.176 estudiantes universitarios mexicanos. El 70,1% eran mujeres, el 89,5% tenían entre 18 y 23 años y el 87,5% eran solteros. Se obtuvo la fiabilidad mediante la prueba de consistencia interna Alfa de Cronbach. La validez concurrente se determinó con pruebas de correlación entre el ASSIST, AUDIT, FTND y CAD-20; se realizaron análisis factoriales exploratorio y confirmatorio para evaluar la validez de constructo. Se obtuvieron coeficientes de fiabilidad aceptables para las subescalas de tabaco (alfa = 0,83), alcohol (alfa = 0,76) y marihuana (alfa = 0,73). La subescala de alcohol obtuvo una correlación significativa con la puntuación total del AUDIT (r = 0,71). La prueba de sensibilidad y especificidad mostró que al usar una calificación de 8 como punto de corte en la subescala de alcohol se obtiene un mejor balance entre ambos indicadores (83,8% y 80%, respectivamente), así como un área bajo la curva (ROC) mayor (81,9%). La versión autoaplicable del ASSIST es un instrumento de cribado aceptable, válido y sensible para la identificación de casos de riesgo asociados al consumo de sustancias.

Validez y confiabilidad de la prueba de detección de consumo de alcohol, tabaco y sustancias (ASSIST) en estudiantes universitarios / Validity and Reliability of the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) in University Students

La Organización Mundial de la Salud desarrolló la Prueba de Detección de Consumo de Alcohol, Tabaco y Sustancias (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test [ASSIST]) que se ha empleado con éxito en muchos países. Sin embargo, hay pocos estudios acerca de su validez y fiabilidad en la población mexicana. El objetivo del estudio fue determinar las propiedades psicométricas de la versión autoaplicable del ASSIST. Para ello, se realizó un estudio no experimental, ex post facto con una muestra de 1.176 estudiantes universitarios mexicanos. El 70,1% eran mujeres, el 89,5% tenían entre 18 y 23 años y el 87,5% eran solteros. Se obtuvo la fiabilidad mediante la prueba de consistencia interna Alfa de Cronbach. La validez concurrente se determinó con pruebas de correlación entre el ASSIST, AUDIT, FTND y CAD-20; se realizaron análisis factoriales exploratorio y confirmatorio para evaluar la validez de constructo. Se obtuvieron coeficientes de fiabilidad aceptables para las subescalas de tabaco (alfa = 0,83), alcohol (alfa = 0,76) y marihuana (alfa = 0,73). La subescala de alcohol obtuvo una correlación significativa con la puntuación total del AUDIT (r = 0,71). La prueba de sensibilidad y especificidad mostró que al usar una calificación de 8 como punto de corte en la subescala de alcohol se obtiene un mejor balance entre ambos indicadores (83,8% y 80%, respectivamente), así como un área bajo la curva (ROC) mayor (81,9%). La versión autoaplicable del ASSIST es un instrumento de cribado aceptable, válido y sensible para la identificación de casos de riesgo asociados al consumo de sustancias

The Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been used successfully in many countries, but there are few studies of its validity and reliability for the Mexican population. The objective of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the selfadministered ASSIST test in university students in Mexico. This was an ex post facto non-experimental study with 1,176 undergraduate students, the majority women (70.1%) aged 18-23 years (89.5%) and single (87.5%). To estimate concurrent validity, factor analysis and tests of reliability and correlation were carried out between the subscale for alcohol and AUDIT, those for tobacco and the Fagerström Test, and those for marijuana and DAST-20. Adequate reliability coefficients were obtained for ASSIST subscales for tobacco (alpha = 0.83), alcohol (alpha = 0.76), and marijuana (alpha = 0.73). Significant correlations were found only with the AUDIT (r = 0.71) and the alcohol subscale. The best balance of sensitivity and specificity of the alcohol subscale (83.8% and 80%, respectively) and the largest area under the ROC curve (81.9%) was found with a cutoff score of 8. The self-administered version of ASSIST is a valid screening instrument to identify at-risk cases due to substance use in this population