Substance abuse is a major and prevalent public health concern among university students. Tobacco smoking, risky alcohol behavior, and illegal drug consumption may lead to health problems and behavioral and academic issues. Several individual and environmental factors associate with substance abuse in this population, and the mediating effect of alcohol abuse in the relationship between tobacco smoking and drug consumption is yet to be explored. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the association of individual and environmental factors and substance use, and to analyze the relationship between tobacco smoking, alcohol abuse, and drug consumption, considering alcohol abuse as a possible mediator. A total of 550 Spanish undergraduate and postgraduate students completed several questionnaires regarding their smoking status, alcohol use, and drug consumption during the last six months. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to explore associations between factors. Direct, indirect and mediating effects were tested using a partial least squares approach (PLS-SEM). The results indicated that substance abuse is associated with being male, living with other students, and combined substance consumption. PLS-SEM showed a significant effect of tobacco smoking and alcohol abuse on drug consumption. Alcohol abuse plays a mediating role in the relationship between tobacco smoking and drug use.

Satisfaction with life (SWL) and subjective vitality (SV) are indicators of subjective well-being and quality of life. University students are at risk of low levels of subjective well-being, and therefore it is necessary to have properly validated tools to assess SWL and SV in this population. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) and subjective vitality scale (SVS) in Spanish university students. Participants were 435 undergraduate students enrolled in 50 different courses (M = 20.9 years, SD = 2.1; female students = 71.2%). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the structure of the scales. Internal consistency, criterion and discriminant validity were also evaluated. Results confirmed the 5-item model of the SWLS (NNFI = 0.975, CFI = 0.987, RMSEA = 0.076) and the six-item model of the SVS (NNFI = 0.980, CFI = 0.988, RMSEA = 0.102). Internal consistency was excellent in both scales. The SWLS and the SVS were significantly associated, and students with low self-esteem showed lower SWL and SV, indicating good criterion and discriminant validity. These findings support the use of the SWLS and SVS for the assessment of subjective well-being in higher education context.