Mental Health and Substance Abuse Among First-Generation Students in Higher Education: Risk and Protective Factors

First-generation students are a specific phase of higher education, whose parents never completed a university degree, that creates exceptional challenges to elementary education and affects its mental health conditions and substance use practices significantly. This integrative literature review investigates the occurrence, risk factors, and protective factors involved with mental health issues and substance abuse among first generation students across stipulates of the world with specific reference to environments that exist in developing countries. Based on the recent empirical studies, the systematic reviews and policy documents, this article compiles the evidence regarding depression, anxiety, substance use behaviors, and the sociocultural factors that play out the consequences. The results show that first-generation students face higher levels of mental health issues and drug problems than continuing-generation students due to such factors as the financial stress, family support, and academic pressure along with the absence of mental health services. The review can add to the existing literature on the topic of mental health among students, and it is practical because it gives recommended measures that university administrators, policymakers, and all health practitioners interested in ensuring the success of first-generation students should implement.