The Effects of Depression and Self-esteem on Attitudes toward Drugs in College Students

Objectives: This study aimed to identify depression, self-esteem, and attitude toward drugs in college students and examine the factors affecting attitude toward drugs.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. A total of 267 college students across the country in Korea were analyzed. Data collection was conducted from online survey using DASS-21, self-esteem scale, and attitude toward drugs scale to quantify participants’ responses.Results: Our results revealed that self-esteem (β= 0.15, p= 0.011) and curiosity about drug (β= -0.20, p= 0.003) significantly influenced attitude toward drugs in college students, and explained 8% of attitude toward drugs in multiple regression analysis. However, depression had no significant effect on attitudes toward drugs.Conclusions: Developing and implementing appropriate self-esteem and curiosity coping programs are necessary to establish a critical attitude toward drugs among college students.