Days out of role in university students: The association of demographics, binge drinking, and psychological risk factors

Objective: To investigate the associations between demographic factors, binge drinking, psychological distress, psychological flexibility, and self-reported Days Out of Role (DOR) among students attending a large metropolitan university in Sydney, Australia. This study aimed to determine whether psychological flexibility moderated the association between psychological distress and DOR. Method: All enrolled students were invited to participate in an online survey titled 'The Mental Health Census' which contained standardised measures of binge drinking, psychological distress, and psychological flexibility. Students received an email, which outlined the purpose of the study, including the link to the anonymous survey. Results: A total of 3950 students participated in the survey. A higher number of DOR was significantly associated with a Non-English Speaking Language (NESL) background, binge drinking and economic hardship. Greater DOR was also associated with increased psychological distress and lower levels of psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility was found to moderate the association between psychological distress and DOR: students experiencing high distress were less likely to report greater DOR if they possessed higher levels of psychological flexibility. Conclusions: Overall, this study confirmed that university students experiencing psychological distress are at a greater risk of experiencing DOR, which may be counteracted by improving psychological flexibility.