An analysis of campus culture, mental health, and drinking at three Canadian universities

Although many individual risk factors have been identified for student mental health problems and alcohol misuse, there is a relative paucity of research that examines how variables, such as campus environment, contribute to students’ experiences of these problems. This study examined a series of perceived campus environment factors (e.g., feeling valued, feeling they fit in, believing faculty care about them, perceived administrative concern for mental health and substance abuse) and the relationships among these perceived campus environment variables and students’ mental well-being, risk of harmful drinking, and their willingness to seek help for a substance use or mental health concern. A total of 1,885 first-year undergraduate university students including 938 females, 936 males and 11 “non-binary” participants, from three geographically diverse Canadian university sites, completed online surveys. The results demonstrated significant associations among the perceived campus environment variables and both mental health and alcohol misuse outcomes. It was also observed that whether a student lived in residence or off campus significantly affected which campus environment factors were most associated with their reported mental health and alcohol misuse. Additionally, willingness to help-seek was related with students’ perceptions of campus culture. These patterns globally demonstrated the importance of campus culture for student mental health and alcohol use. Strengths and limitations of the study, as well as directions for future research on the relations of campus culture to mental health, substance use, and help-seeking are discussed.