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Published
2025-12-04
Section
Feature Articles
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Copyright (c) 2025 Virginia B. Wickline, Ph.D., Marissa Renee, Hunter Ferguson, Niamh Kenny, Oliver Ens, Sunny Ray Crawfish, Adam Deal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright of all articles published in JCOTR belong to the author(s) and are published under a CC BY-NC license.
How to Cite
College Adjustment Adds Incremental Validity in Assessing Substance Misuse in College Students
Virginia B. Wickline, Ph.D.
Georgia Southern University
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4211-3874
Marissa Renee
Georgia Southern University
Hunter Ferguson
Georgia Southern University
Niamh Kenny
Georgia Southern University
Oliver Ens
Georgia Southern University
Sunny Ray Crawfish
Georgia Southern University
Adam Deal
Georgia Southern University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jcotr.v32i2.6353
Keywords: substance misuse, substance abuse, college adjustment, self-esteem, spirituality
Abstract
This study examined college adjustment aspects that are associated with substance misuse, complimenting demographic and individual difference factors that have successfully predicted problematic use in past studies. A stepwise regression with college students (N = 936) showed that college-specific depression, knowledge of campus resources, academic success, college-specific anxiety, and social adjustment served as risk factors for problematic substance use, as did self-esteem, negative affect, and spiritual well-being. Ethnicity, class year, and campus location also predicted substance misuse. These results can lay the groundwork for universities to address retention risk factors related to substance misuse.
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Author Biographies
Virginia B. Wickline, Ph.D., Georgia Southern University
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Marissa Renee, Georgia Southern University
Undergraduate Research Associate, Department of Psychology
Hunter Ferguson, Georgia Southern University
Undergraduate Research Associate, Department of Psychology
Niamh Kenny, Georgia Southern University
Undergraduate Research Associate, Department of Psychology
Oliver Ens, Georgia Southern University
Undergraduate Research Associate, Department of Psychology
Sunny Ray Crawfish, Georgia Southern University
Undergraduate Research Associate, Department of Psychology
Adam Deal, Georgia Southern University
Undergraduate Research Associate, Department of Psychology
