title: Discontinuous college enrollment: associations with substance use and mental health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the prospective relationship of substance use and mental health problems with risk of discontinuous enrollment in college.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 1,145 students at a large public university who were interviewed annually for four years beginning at college entry in 2004 (year 1). Discontinuous enrollment was defined as a gap in enrollment of one or more semesters during the first two years (early discontinuity) or the second two years (late discontinuity) versus continuous enrollment throughout all four years. Explanatory variables measured in year 1 were scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory, childhood conduct problems, cannabis use, number of illicit drugs used, and alcohol consumption. In years 3 and 4, participants reported lifetime history of clinically diagnosed attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety, including age at diagnosis. Multinomial logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the association between the independent variables and discontinuous enrollment while holding constant background characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher BDI scores predicted early discontinuity but not late discontinuity, whereas cannabis and alcohol use predicted only late discontinuity. Receiving a depression diagnosis during college was associated with both early and late discontinuity. Self-reported precollege diagnoses were not related to discontinuous enrollment once background characteristics were taken into account.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Students who experience depressive symptoms or seek treatment for depression during college might be at risk of interruptions in their college enrollment. Cannabis use and heavy drinking appear to add to this risk. Students entering college with preexisting psychiatric diagnoses are not necessarily at risk of enrollment interruptions.
authors.affiliation: Center on Young Adult Health and Development, Department of Family Science,University of Maryland School of Public Health, 1142 School of Public Health Building,College Park, MD 20742, USA. aarria@umd.edu
authors.forename: Amelia M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Arria
authors.forename: Kimberly M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Caldeira
authors.forename: Kathryn B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: Emily R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Winick
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.forename: Kevin E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: O'Grady
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013332:Student Dropouts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult