European Teens Who Felt Hardest Hit by COVID Used More Cannabis | Research

The takeaway

Among 106,000 European adolescents, those who perceived the pandemic as negatively impacting their lives had significantly higher rates of cannabis use compared to those who felt positively impacted.

Adolescent health researchers, school counselors, crisis response planners, European public health officials

14% of European teens were negatively impacted, with higher cannabis use

What the researchers found

Fourteen percent of adolescents were classified as negatively impacted by COVID, with this group overrepresented among girls, older teens, and less affluent families. Negatively impacted adolescents had higher risk of cannabis use, smoking, and drunkenness compared to positively impacted peers. Countries with highest negative impact rates included Hungary, Cyprus, Greece, and Poland (>25%).

Why it matters

This 21-country study shows that subjective pandemic experience, not just objective exposure, predicted substance use. Understanding that self-perceived negative impact drives risk behaviors can inform future crisis response targeting vulnerable youth.

The numbers in context

106,221 adolescents from 21 countries. 14% negatively impacted, 42% positively impacted, 44% neutral. Negatively impacted group had higher cannabis, smoking, and drunkenness risk. Highest negative impact: Hungary, Cyprus, Greece, Poland (>25%).

How the study worked

Analysis of 106,221 adolescents aged 11-15 from the 2021/22 HBSC study across 21 European countries. Multilevel Generalized Latent Class Analysis identified groups by perceived pandemic impact, then examined substance use as outcomes.

What this study cannot tell us

Cross-sectional design collected in 2021/22 captures a single time point. Self-reported substance use and pandemic impact. Cannot determine whether negative impact caused substance use or vice versa. Country-level variation may reflect cultural differences in reporting.

How to read the evidence

Strong: very large multinational sample across 21 countries with sophisticated latent class analysis, though cross-sectional design

When this study was published

Published in 2025 using 2021/22 HBSC data from 21 European countries

The bigger picture

Major stressful events disproportionately affect certain youth populations, who then turn to substance use. The variation across countries suggests that societal and policy responses to crises can modify this relationship.

Questions still open

Did cannabis use among negatively impacted teens persist after the pandemic? Which specific aspects of pandemic experience drove the substance use increase? Would mental health support during crises prevent this pattern?

Common questions

Did COVID increase teen cannabis use?

Teens who perceived the pandemic as negatively impacting their lives had higher cannabis use rates. However, 42% of teens reported a positive pandemic impact and 44% were neutral, so the effect was concentrated among the 14% who felt most negatively affected.

Which teens were most affected?

Girls, older adolescents, and those from less affluent families were overrepresented in the negatively impacted group. Country-level variation was substantial, with Hungary, Cyprus, Greece, and Poland showing the highest rates of negative impact (>25%).

Read the original research

Self-perceived impact of COVID-19 and risk behaviors among adolescents: Results from the HBSC 2021/22 study in 21 European countries.

Addictive behaviors, 163, 108238

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Berchialla, Paola; Canale, Natale; Kilibarda, Biljana; Comoretto, Rosanna Irene; Alexandrova-Karamanova, Anna; Baška, Tibor; Ter Bogt, Tom; Vieno, Alessio; Charrier, Lorena. (2025). Self-perceived impact of COVID-19 and risk behaviors among adolescents: Results from the HBSC 2021/22 study in 21 European countries.. Addictive behaviors, 163, 108238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108238