European Teens Who Felt Hardest Hit by COVID Used More Cannabis

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%).

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.

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.

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.

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.