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. 2021 Mar 11;12(1):1872220.
doi: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1872220.

Mental disorders and substance abuse among Rwandan university students: the moderating effects of interpersonal violence

Diane Ngwino Sengesho  1 , Japhet Niyonsenga  1 , Assumpta Muhayisa  1 , Jean Mutabaruka  1
Affiliations

Mental disorders and substance abuse among Rwandan university students: the moderating effects of interpersonal violence

Diane Ngwino Sengesho et al. Eur J Psychotraumatol. .

Abstract
in English, Spanish, Chinese

Background: There is an abundance of evidence suggesting that interpersonal violence commonly co-occurs with mental disorders and substance abuse. Interpersonal violence is one of the most well-documented and salient factors of mental disorders and substance abuse; however, there are no studies investigating the moderating role of interpersonal violence in post-conflict Rwanda. Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between mental disorders and substance abuse among Rwandan university students, and whether the role of interpersonal violence is a moderating factor. Method: A purposive sample of 143 undergraduate university students (mean age = 22.4 years, SD = 2.6) from University of Rwanda-Remera Campus were selected for participation in this cross-sectional study. We used linear regression analysis to examine the relationships between mental disorders, substance abuse and interpersonal violence. Results: Substance abuse was significantly associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression and interpersonal violence. Interpersonal violence was a significant moderator of the associations between PTSD symptoms (β = 0.43, p < 0.001), anxiety symptoms (β = 0.47, p < 0.001), depressive symptoms (β = 0.48, p < 0.001) and substance use. Conclusion: The results imply that PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms are associated with increased risk of substance abuse, and this risk appears to become substantially more elevated when there are also current or historic reports of interpersonal violence.

Antecedentes: Existe una gran cantidad de evidencia que sugiere que la violencia interpersonal comúnmente coexiste con los trastornos mentales y el abuso de sustancias. La violencia interpersonal es uno de los factores relativos a los trastornos mentales y el abuso de sustancias más destacado y mejor documentado; sin embargo, no hay estudios que investiguen el papel moderador de la violencia interpersonal posterior al conflicto de Ruanda.Objetivos: El objetivo del presente estudio fue explorar la relación entre los trastornos mentales y el abuso de sustancias entre los estudiantes universitarios ruandeses, y si el papel de la violencia interpersonal es un factor moderador.Métodos: Se seleccionó una muestra intencional de 143 estudiantes universitarios de pregrado (edad media = 22,4, DE = 2,6) del Campus de la Universidad de Ruanda-Remera para participar en este estudio transversal. Utilizamos el análisis de regresión lineal para examinar las relaciones entre los trastornos mentales, el abuso de sustancias y la violencia interpersonal.Resultados: El abuso de sustancias se asoció significativamente con TEPT, ansiedad, depresión y violencia interpersonal. La violencia interpersonal fue un moderador significativo de las asociaciones entre los síntomas de TEPT (β=.43, p<0.001), síntomas de ansiedad (β=.47, p<0.001), síntomas depresivos (β=.48, p<0.001 y abuso de sustancias.Conclusión: Los resultados implican que los síntomas de TEPT, depresión y ansiedad están asociados con un mayor riesgo de abuso de sustancias, y estos riesgos parecen ser sustancialmente más elevados cuando también hay reportes actuales o históricos de violencia interpersonal.

背景：有大量证据表明人际暴力通常与精神障碍和物质滥用并发。人际暴力是精神障碍和物质滥用最有据可查和最突出的因素之一，但是尚无研究考查人际暴力在冲突后卢旺达内部的调节作用。目的：本研究旨在探讨卢旺达大学生中精神障碍与物质滥用之间的关系，以及人际暴力是否起到调节因素的作用。方法：选择卢旺达大学-雷梅拉校区143名本科生的立意样本（平均年龄= 22.4，标准差 = 2.6）参加这项横断面研究。我们使用线性回归分析来考查精神障碍、物质滥用和人际暴力之间的关系。结果：物质滥用与PTSD、焦虑、抑郁和人际暴力显著相关。 人际暴力是PTSD症状（β= .43，p <0.001）、焦虑症状（β= .47，p <0.001）、抑郁症状（β= .48，p <0.001）和物质滥用之间关联的显著调节因素。结论：该结果表明，PTSD、抑郁和焦虑症状与物质滥用风险增加有关，并且在当前具有或历史报告过人际暴力时，这些风险似乎大大增加。.

Keywords: Substance abuse; interpersonal violence; mental disorders; moderation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Substance use versus post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. SSI-AOD, Simple Screening Instrument for Alcohol and Other Drugs; PSCL-5, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Substance use versus anxiety symptoms. SSI-AOD, Simple Screening Instrument for Alcohol and Other Drugs; HSCL-A, Hopkins Symptom Checklist Anxiety subscale
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Substance use versus depression symptoms. SSI-AOD, Simple Screening Instrument for Alcohol and Other Drugs; HSCL-D, Hopkins Symptom Checklist Depression subscale
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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