The decline in adolescent substance use across Europe and North America in the early twenty-first century: A result of the digital revolution?

Looze, Margaretha de; Dorsselaer, Saskia van; Boniel-Nissim, Meyran; Vieno, Alessio; Eijnden, R.J.J.M. van den

doi:10.1007/s00038-018-1182-7

Cited by 68 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…A slight increase in spending time with parents was found in a Swedish study, yet this change was not independently related to the decline in adolescent drinking [17]. What did make a difference was a large reduction in leisure-time social interaction with peers, which corroborates the results of other recent studies [14,[17][18][19]. However, the frequency of 'going out with friends' increased among Finnish youth in the 2000s, and paradoxically, Raitasalo et al [12] found that this change-in a statistical sense-explained some of the reduction in drinking.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…It has been suggested that the rise in time spent on using information and communication technologies is important in this regard, as adolescents have become too busy with their media pursuits at the expense of activities, such as substance use, that typically occur in face-to-face social interactions [7,10]. However, the extant body of research does not support this assumption [19,33], and a possible role of the use of digital media in this regard may be complex [1].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decline in adolescent drinking: Some possible explanations

Rossow

Pape

Torgersen

2020

Drug and Alcohol Review

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Introduction and Aims Adolescent drinking has decreased in numerous high‐income countries in the 2000s, and how to explain this downward trend is far from clear. Focussing on the decline in drinking to intoxication among youth in Norway, we examined the following potential explanatory factors: family/home‐based and peer‐oriented leisure‐time activities, perceived parental drinking, drug substitution, school conscientiousness and delinquency. Design and Methods Data stemmed from cross‐sectional surveys of adolescents aged 13–17 years in the four largest cities in Norway in 2002 (n = 1204) and in 2013/2015 (n = 31 441). We examined the extent to which the decline in intoxication prevalence was attributable to the possible explanatory variables using logistic regression analysis. Results The proportion reporting any past‐year intoxication episodes dropped markedly from 2002 (41%) to 2013/2015 (22%). Family/home‐oriented leisure‐time activities and school conscientiousness increased, whereas hanging out with friends in the evening and delinquent behaviours decreased. These factors together accounted for 43% of this decline. Decrease in going out with friends was the most important factor. We found no empirical support for assumptions that perceived parental drinking or drug substitution had contributed to the decrease in drinking to intoxication. Discussion and Conclusions Since the millennium shift, urban adolescents in Norway have become more home‐, family‐ and school‐oriented, and less involved in unsupervised socialising with peers and delinquency. These changes may have contributed to some of the reduction in the prevalence of intoxication in this population group.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decline in adolescent drinking: Some possible explanations

Rossow

Pape

Torgersen

2020

Drug and Alcohol Review

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“…In this respect, EIU seems to be distinct from traditional antisocial and problematic behaviours-our results showed that overprotection and increased time at home and in the family environment (in other words, decreased time in peer groups) increase EIU. The distinction between EIU and problematic adolescent behaviour is further supported by De Looze and his colleagues [54], who found that the overall trend in the decrease of substance use in recent adolescents is not related to increased use of digital media; thus, EIU is not simply a replacement for other forms of problematic behaviour. Despite the fact that some studies found an association between EIU and various conduct problems [55,56], and that problematic adolescent behaviours and EIU share some underpinnings with ADHD [57], our study points to the need for specific parenting approaches when addressing EIU and when addressing traditional problematic behaviours.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

The Associations between Family-Related Factors and Excessive Internet Use in Adolescents

Faltýnková

Blinka

Ševčíková

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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This study examined the relationship between Excessive Internet Use (EIU) in adolescents and their family environment, namely the family type, the family economic status, the effect of parental care, the level of parental control, the amount of parental monitoring, the quality of communication, and the time spent together. The study was based on data from an international survey, Health Behaviour in School Aged Children (HBSC), conducted in Slovakia. The sample representative for adolescents included 2547 participants (51% boys) aged 13-15. Multiple-step linear regression revealed that higher parental care and parental monitoring predicted lower EIU, while higher parental overprotection and lower socioeconomic status predicted higher EIU. The results suggest that both so-called optimal parenting (i.e., the balance of emotional warmth and protection) and the adolescent s autonomy lower the risk of EIU. Family factors explained about 14% of the variance, which suggests that aside from personal, cognitive and affective factors, a close social environment also plays an important role in adolescence EIU.Adolescents are often shown to be the most vulnerable group in terms of developing EIU [8]. Their vulnerability stems from specific immaturity that is characteristic for the developmental period and includes increased impulsivity, impaired self-regulation, and higher tendencies toward reward-seeking behaviours [9,10]. Given the fact that the internet is a readily available tool that is thoroughly embedded in their everyday routines [11], EIU may become an issue for some adolescents. Higher levels of internet use have been linked to a range of problems, such as nervousness and irritability due to lack of sleep [12], increased depression [13], health problems caused by sedentary behaviour [14,15], and neglecting academic and other responsibilities [16,17].Prior research has mostly investigated various individual risk factors that range from low self-esteem and self-efficacy [18,19], self-directedness [20], neuroticism [21], and loneliness [22] to attention difficulties [23]. As such, the role of social environment is neglected in models that describing both generalised and specific disordered internet use-only the role of social cognition (e.g., feelings of isolation, perceived lack of social support) is mentioned in the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model [4] and the Cognitive-Behavioral Model of Pathological Internet Use [2]. However, theories of problematic adolescent behaviour, e.g., the Problem Behavior Theory [24] and theories for media effects, e.g., the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model [25] propose stronger consideration of the environmental influence, notably the family, which may both predictand moderate adolescent behaviour, including patterns of internet use.The family environment is the closest social environment for adolescents and it plays an essential role in development [26]. Previous research suggests that the presence of a dysfunctional and high-conflict fa...

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“…It has been suggested 45 that the rise in social media and screen time may be a factor in the decline in cannabis use by younger people: less time spent in face to face interactions with friends may reduce exposure to cannabis and other substances. However, a recent report suggests otherwise 46 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Changes over time in prevalence rates of past-year cannabis use by men and women with a psychotic disorder.

Waterreus

Prinzio

Badcock

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: General population data show cannabis use by younger people is declining but increasing in older adults. Overall, the gap between men and women appears to be narrowing. Little has been documented about sex and age differences in patterns of cannabis use over time by people with a psychotic disorder. We examined rates of past-year cannabis use by sex and age to determine whether use by this population has changed over time. Methods: Data on cannabis use from Australian National Psychosis Surveys (1997, 2010) were analysed by sex and age and compared to National Drug Strategy Household Surveys (1998, 2010). Results: Prevalence of past-year cannabis use by people with psychotic illness dropped significantly from 38.2% to 33.7%. Both sexes showed a decline in use. The steeper decline in use by men aged 18-29 years (70.2% to 47.8%) contributed to a narrowing of the sex gap. Conversely, use by men aged 55-64 increased from 4.8% to 18.8%. General population data showed a similar pattern of change across sex and age groups. Conclusions: Despite declining rates of past-year cannabis use in people with a psychotic illness, rates remain more than double that of the general population. Traditionally, men were more likely to use cannabis than women, but convergence in rates in younger people shows this is changing. Furthermore, cannabis use is not restricted to young people. Increasing use of cannabis by older men will place additional demands on drug and alcohol services.

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The decline in adolescent substance use across Europe and North America in the early twenty-first century: A result of the digital revolution?

Cited by 68 publications

References 34 publications

Decline in adolescent drinking: Some possible explanations

Decline in adolescent drinking: Some possible explanations

The Associations between Family-Related Factors and Excessive Internet Use in Adolescents

Changes over time in prevalence rates of past-year cannabis use by men and women with a psychotic disorder.

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