Substance Use Among Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Systematic Review

Hannah M. Layman; Ingibjorg Eva Thorisdottir; Thorhildur Halldorsdottir; Inga Dora Sigfusdottir; John P. Allegrante; Alfgeir Logi Kristjansson

doi:10.1007/s11920-022-01338-z

Substance Use Among Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Systematic Review

Hannah M. Layman, Ingibjorg Eva Thorisdottir, Thorhildur Halldorsdottir, Inga Dora Sigfusdottir, John P. Allegrante, Alfgeir Logi Kristjansson

Department of Psychology

Reykjavik University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review the literature on the trends in substance use among youth during the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic.

RECENT FINDINGS: The pandemic has given rise to concerns about the mental health and social well-being of youth, including its potential to increase or exacerbate substance use behaviors. This systematic review identified and included 49 studies of use across alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, e-cigarettes/vaping, and other drugs, and unspecified substances. The majority of studies across all categories of youth substance use reported reductions in prevalence, except in the case of other drugs and unspecified drug and substance use, which included three studies that reported an increase in use and three studies that reported decrease in use. Overall, the results of this review suggest that the prevalence of youth substance use has largely declined during the pandemic. Youth substance use in the post-pandemic years will require monitoring and continued surveillance.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	307-324
Number of pages	18
Journal	Current Psychiatry Reports
Volume	24
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-022-01338-z
Publication status	Published - 27 Apr 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: This research was funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (#U48DP006391), and the Icelandic Research Fund (#217612). Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

Other keywords

Adolescent
COVID-19/epidemiology
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
Humans
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2
Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology

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10.1007/s11920-022-01338-zLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Substance Use Among Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Systematic Review",

abstract = "PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review the literature on the trends in substance use among youth during the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic.RECENT FINDINGS: The pandemic has given rise to concerns about the mental health and social well-being of youth, including its potential to increase or exacerbate substance use behaviors. This systematic review identified and included 49 studies of use across alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, e-cigarettes/vaping, and other drugs, and unspecified substances. The majority of studies across all categories of youth substance use reported reductions in prevalence, except in the case of other drugs and unspecified drug and substance use, which included three studies that reported an increase in use and three studies that reported decrease in use. Overall, the results of this review suggest that the prevalence of youth substance use has largely declined during the pandemic. Youth substance use in the post-pandemic years will require monitoring and continued surveillance.",

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note = "Funding Information: This research was funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (\#U48DP006391), and the Icelandic Research Fund (\#217612). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, The Author(s).",

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AU - Allegrante, John P.

AU - Kristjansson, Alfgeir Logi

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N2 - PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review the literature on the trends in substance use among youth during the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic.RECENT FINDINGS: The pandemic has given rise to concerns about the mental health and social well-being of youth, including its potential to increase or exacerbate substance use behaviors. This systematic review identified and included 49 studies of use across alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, e-cigarettes/vaping, and other drugs, and unspecified substances. The majority of studies across all categories of youth substance use reported reductions in prevalence, except in the case of other drugs and unspecified drug and substance use, which included three studies that reported an increase in use and three studies that reported decrease in use. Overall, the results of this review suggest that the prevalence of youth substance use has largely declined during the pandemic. Youth substance use in the post-pandemic years will require monitoring and continued surveillance.

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Substance Use Among Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Systematic Review

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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