Darielle Brooks
Dr. Thompson
SSC 416: Social Research
February 5, 2022
Angle and Research Interest
This study will argue that Covid-19 deaths, particularly of the immediate family member, mother, father, brother, sister, or grandparent, influence psychological distress, which increases alcohol and other substance use, abuse, and addiction among HBCU students. Since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2019, World Health Organization (WHO) reports over 5 million people as of February 2022 (Kılınç et al., 2022). The people who have died have been immediate family members, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and grandparents. Due to these deaths, many people, including HBCU students on campus, have experienced psychological problems such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, stress, depression, and sadness, leading to an increase in alcohol and other substance usages, abuse, and addiction.
Several pieces of evidence have shown a close relationship between adverse psychological issues and an increase in alcohol and drugs usage, abuse, and addiction among youth, adults, and even older adults. According to Smith et al. (2017), negative emotions like depression and stress influence alcohol and drug initiation and consumption as a coping strategy. Self-Medication Theory will be used to demonstrate the link between psychological distress and increase of alcohol and other substance usages, abuse and addiction among HBCU students. It will also support the research’s angle and confirm the hypothesis. Despite particular studies arguing that alcohol intake, abuse, and addiction tend to reduce during a disaster because of limited availability and financial challenges, this study emphasizes the “increase perspective” influenced by the psychological challenges associated with the pandemic.
The research interest is to understand how Covid-19 deaths cause psychological distress, which can, in turn, lead to an increase in alcohol and other substance use, abuse and addiction among HBCU students. The study is also interested in revealing useful approaches to address the negative emotions associated with a pandemic to reduce alcohol and other substance consumption, abuse, and addiction among HBCU students.
References
Kılınç, M., Arslan, G., Çakar, F. S., & Yıldırım, M. (2022). Psychological maltreatment, coping flexibility, and death obsession during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-mediation analysis. Current psychology, 1-9..
Smith, L. L., Yan, F., Charles, M., Mohiuddin, K., Tyus, D., Adekeye, O., & Holden, K. B. (2017). Exploring the link between substance use and mental health status: what can we learn from the self-medication theory?. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 28(2), 113-131.
