The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adolescent Substance Use

We analyze adolescent substance use trends during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of the major disruptions that it created.

Adolescent substance use overall declined during the pandemic and subsequently rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. While overall rates of use decreased during periods of lockdown, rates of high intensity use increased.

The pandemic created a unique landscape of risks and protective factors that impacted the prevalence of substance use in the adolescent population, and created a cohort that experienced a unique insult during a formative developmental period. Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resolution on this group may provide new insights into substance use risk and protective factors.