Unemployment and Substance Use in Young Adults: Does Educational Attainment Modify the Association?

Abstract

We studied whether patterns of substance use in relation to unemployment vary depending on educational level. Data come from 1,126 community-based young adults in France (18-35 years of age in 2011) and their parents (TEMPO and GAZEL studies). Tobacco use (≥1 cigarette/day, 22.5% prevalence), nicotine dependence (Fagerström test ≥2, 7.1% prevalence), alcohol use (≥2 units/week, 25.3% prevalence), alcohol abuse (WHO AUDIT ≥7 in women and ≥8 in men, 10.8% prevalence), cannabis use (≥1 time, 16.5% prevalence), and cannabis abuse (CAST ≥2, 5.0% prevalence) were assessed by interview. We conducted logistic regression analyses controlled for inverse probability weights of unemployment, calculated based on demographics, negative life events, health, and juvenile and parental characteristics. Compared to participants who were always employed, those who were unemployed and had no higher education were more likely to smoke tobacco (OR: 2.76, 95% CI: 1.86-4.10), to be nicotine dependent (OR: 5.70, 95% CI: 3.03-10.73), to use cannabis (OR: 2.27, 95% CI: 1.42-3.64), and to abuse cannabis (OR: 3.38, 95% CI: 1.63-7.04). Those who were unemployed and had higher education were especially likely to abuse alcohol (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.16-3.09). Increases in unemployment may impact population levels of substance use, particularly in young adults with low educational attainment.

The association of unemployment from age 21 to 33 with substance use disorder symptoms at age 39: The role of childhood neighborhood characteristics

“…The unemployment duration measure was not significantly associated with cannabis use disorder symptoms at age 39 when a set of covariates was added to the model, consistent with Melchior and colleagues (2015).…”

“…The nonsignificant findings for cannabis may be also due in part to lower rates of cannabis use in general. Still, our findings, coupled with prior studies reporting null findings regarding the impact of unemployment on cannabis abuse (Melchior et al, 2015) and cannabis use (Lee et al, 2015), suggest that the effect of unemployment on cannabis use disorder symptoms might not be substantial. It is important to note that with the exception of medical use, cannabis use was illegal for all data collection waves of the SSDP except for the last wave (age 39), which may have influenced the study results.…”

“…Unemployment has been associated with an increase in alcohol abuse (Redonnet et al, 2012), a decrease in substance use (Ettner, 1997; Khan et al, 2002) and no change in cannabis abuse (Melchior et al, 2015). Such mixed findings warrant further inquiry.…”

“…Such mixed findings warrant further inquiry. In particular, considering that most studies have focused on alcohol (Boden et al, 2014; Ettner, 1997; Khan et al, 2002; Mulia et al, 2014) with very few exceptions (e.g., Melchior et al, 2015; Redonnet et al, 2012), elevated risk of widely used other substances, such as nicotine and cannabis (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2014), should be investigated. It is feasible that unemployment may have differential associations with different substances, given variation in their legal status under laws governing drug use.…”

L’impact du chômage sur la santé

“…En 2004, une revue de la littérature sur la santé des chômeurs français constatait que « la très grande majorité des études ont été publiées sous forme de rapports ou de chapitres de livres » avec « une quasi-absence d'ajustement sur les caractéristiques sociales des chômeurs ou même parfois sur l'âge » [4]. Depuis 2004, le nombre d'études françaises publiées dans des revues internationales à comité de lecture est resté extrêmement faible avec seulement trois publications [5][6][7], et ce n'est que très récemment que les pouvoirs publics semblent s'être saisis de cette question [8]. …”