Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol or drug use symptoms and service need among youth: a cross-sectional sample from British Columbia, Canada

Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy

Research

Guiping Liu¹  Jason M. Sutherland²  Emilie Mallia³  Steve Mathias⁴  Skye Barbic⁵  Nikki Ow⁵  Krista Glowacki⁵  Kirsten Marchand⁵  Katherine G. Hastings⁶ 

[1] Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, 201- 2206 East Mall, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317-2194 Health Sciences Mall, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences, 588-1081 Burrard Street, V6Z 1Y6, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, 201- 2206 East Mall, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, BC, Canada;School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, 2206 East Mall, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Foundry, 915-1045 Howe Street, V6Z 2A9, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Foundry, 915-1045 Howe Street, V6Z 2A9, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317-2194 Health Sciences Mall, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences, 588-1081 Burrard Street, V6Z 1Y6, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, 2255 Wesbrook Mall, V6T 2A1, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Foundry, 915-1045 Howe Street, V6Z 2A9, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317-2194 Health Sciences Mall, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of British Columbia, 317-2194 Health Sciences Mall, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences, 588-1081 Burrard Street, V6Z 1Y6, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Foundry, 915-1045 Howe Street, V6Z 2A9, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317-2194 Health Sciences Mall, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, BC, Canada;School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, 2206 East Mall, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, BC, Canada;

关键词: Youth;    Adolescents;    Young adults;    COVID-19 pandemic;    Substance-related disorders;    Early intervention;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13011-022-00508-9

 received in 2022-09-22, accepted in 2022-12-07,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundConcerns about youth alcohol and drug use have risen since the declaration of the global COVID-19 pandemic due to the pandemic’s impact on known risk and protective factors for substance use. However, the pandemic’s immediate and long-term impact on youths’ substance use patterns has been less clear. Thus, this study sought to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted alcohol or drug use and its risk and protective factors among youth accessing integrated youth services.MethodsWe conducted a repeated cross-sectional study of patient-reported outcomes data collected between May 2018 and February 2022 among youth (n = 6022) ages 10–24 accessing a provincial network of integrated youth services in Canada. The main exposure of interest was the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 – February 2022) compared with a pre-pandemic period (May 2018 – February 2020). As measured by the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs – Short Screener, outcomes included the average number of past month alcohol or drug use symptoms and past month likelihood of service need for alcohol/drug use (moderate/high vs. low need). Interrupted time series (ITS) examined change in average monthly alcohol/drug use symptoms between the pre- and pandemic periods. Stratified multivariable logistic regression investigated how the pandemic modified the effects of established risk/protective factors on likelihood of alcohol/drug use service need.ResultsFifty-percent of youth met the criteria for moderate/high likelihood of alcohol/drug use service need, with the odds being 2.39 times (95% confidence interval = 2.04, 2.80) greater during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. Results from the ITS indicated significant immediate effects of the pandemic on monthly substance use symptoms (p = 0.01). Significant risk/protective factors for service need included exposure to violence, engagement in meaningful activities, and self-rated physical and mental health; and the direction of their effects remained consistent across pandemic and pre-pandemic periods.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic corresponded with increased alcohol or drug use among youth accessing integrated services. This signals an urgent need for increased clinical capacity in existing youth services and policies that can respond to risk/protective factors for substance use earlier.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

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