Swedish High School Students’ Drug and Alcohol Use Habits throughout 2020

Abstract

This study describes gender-specific patterns in alcohol and drug use among Swedish high school students throughout 2020 and questions the current cutoffs for identifying addiction in this population. From September 2020 to February 2021, 1590 Swedish upper secondary high school students (mean age 17.15 years, age range 15–19 years, 39.6% male, and 60.4% female) completed the anonymous, electronic survey of the Mental and Somatic Health without borders study. The respondents reported their substance use habits during the previous 12 months using the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). They also answered questions about changes in their alcohol and illegal drug use habits after the COVID-19 outbreak. No gender differences were detected in the prevalence and degree of alcohol use. Compared to female adolescents, significantly more male adolescents used drugs (and to a significantly higher degree, although with a small effect size). Substance use problems peaked in females at age 17 and in males at age 18. The COVID-19 outbreak affected alcohol consumption and illegal drug use in male and female adolescents similarly. For both genders, of those who used illegal drugs, over 40% reported increased use after the outbreak. Our results reinforce previous suggestions of the narrowing of gender differences in Swedish adolescents’ risk behaviors and challenge the previously validated gender-specific cutoffs for the AUDIT and DUDIT. An improved understanding of the impacts of gender diversity and evolving gender roles and norms on behaviors and mental health is warranted.

Factors associated with adolescents' perception of four types of domestic violence in Honduras/Central America during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“…The COVID-19 pandemic similarly affected alcohol and illicit drug use among male and female adolescents. For both genders, of those who used illicit drugs, more than 40% reported an increase in use after the pandemic (19). Beserra et al in their research on school violence suffered and practiced and its association with the use of alcohol and other drugs among adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, observed a signi cant association between violence suffered and the age group of 12 to 14 years; male sex and the degree of schooling in elementary school were also associated (20).…”

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Swedish Adolescents’ Mental Health, Psychosocial Functioning, Risk Behaviours, and Victimisation: Gender Differences and Implications

“…Approximately 60% of those (similar proportion in both genders) who reported changes also reported an increase in illicit drug use, representing almost 7% of males and 3% of females in the study population. The level of substance use (alcohol and drug) and the corresponding changes during the COVID-19 pandemic within the same sample as our study have been extensively examined and quantified using specific measures of alcohol and drug use (AUDIT and DUDIT) in a recent publication by Sfendla et al [41].…”

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Swedish Adolescents’ Mental Health, Psychosocial Functioning, Risk Behaviours, and Victimisation: Gender Differences and Implications

“…Approximately 60% of those (similar proportion in both genders) who reported changes also reported an increase in illicit drug use, representing almost 7% of men and 3% of women in the study population. The level of substance use (alcohol and drug) and the corresponding changes during the COVID-19 pandemic within the same sample as our study were extensively examined and quantified using specific measures of alcohol and drug use (AUDIT and DUDIT) in a recent publication by Sfendla et al [45].…”