The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to concerns for youth mental health and social well-being, including its potential to spur substance use behaviors.
However, research from West Virginia University shows the opposite: youth substance use declined during the pandemic.
Hannah Layman, a social and behavioral sciences doctoral student, and Alfgeir Kristjansson, associate professor in the School of Public Health, examined the prevalence of youth substance use throughout the pandemic by focusing on 49 studies that observed alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and e-cigarette/vaping use.
Because substance use among youth often occurs outside the home environment and within the context of peer groups, teens and children had limited access and opportunities to partake while at home during the pandemic, the study concluded.
“One of the driving factors for youth substance use is access to substances,” Layman said. “With stay-at-home orders, virtual schooling and social distancing, children have been spending more time with family and are more socially isolated from peers than before. Although social isolation from peers may have a negative impact on their mental health, it may just be one of the desirable outcomes of the pandemic when considering substance use in children.”
Layman and Kristjansson said that adolescence is typically the point in a child’s life when peer socialization and the importance of peer respect increases while parental monitoring decreases.
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