Higher education: impact of substance use on self-esteem and well-being

Liliana Mendes; Levi  Leonido; Bruna  Soares; Tânia  Guimarães; Cátia  Romão; Mariana Guerra; Elsa Maria Gabriel Morgado

doi:10.6063/motricidade.39660

Higher education: impact of substance use on self-esteem and well-being

Authors

Liliana Mendes Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7938-6166
Levi Leonido Center for Research in Arts Sciences and Technologies, Portuguese Catholic University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3653-7876
Bruna Soares University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6926-1941
Tânia Guimarães University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1678-4807
Cátia Romão University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4797-4673
Mariana Guerra University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
Elsa Maria Gabriel Morgado Polytechnic Institute of Bragança. Center for Studies in Education and Innovation, CI&DEI

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6063/motricidade.39660

Keywords:

Higher education, Self-esteem, Psychological well-being, Substance use

Abstract

The consumption of psychoactive substances by university students is a subject that has been gaining more and more attention in the literature. However, there is still a lot of disagreement on this subject. This study aims to relate the impact of substance consumption habits (alcohol, tobacco and other psychoactive substances) with self-esteem and psychological well-being in university students, in order to gain a better understanding of this issue. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative, correlational study with a quasi-experimental design. The sample consisted of 460 university students aged between 18 and 66 with internet access. Of these participants, 299 were female and 158 were male. The instruments used were a Sociodemographic Questionnaire, the Scale for the measurement of Manifestation of Psychological Well-being (EMMBEP) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RAS). The results showed no statistically significant differences in terms of self-esteem and psychological well-being according to substance use. In addition, only the consumption of other psychoactive substances was significantly higher in male participants than in female participants.

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Published

2025-07-18

How to Cite

Mendes, L., Leonido, L. ., Soares, B. ., Guimarães , T. ., Romão , C. ., Guerra , M., & Morgado, E. M. G. (2025). Higher education: impact of substance use on self-esteem and well-being. Motricidade, 21, e39660. https://doi.org/10.6063/motricidade.39660

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Issue

Vol. 21 (2025): Motricidade: 20 years publishing human movement

Section

Original Article

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