Harris Nicholas A, Weitzman Elissa R
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2024 Dec;26(12):822-831. doi: 10.1007/s11920-024-01554-9. Epub 2024 Nov 14.
Substance use among adolescents and young adults remains a critical public health concern, with patterns shifting dramatically in recent years. This narrative review examines trends in substance use behaviors during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Epidemiologic evidence shows declines in the proportion of youth who are using most substances but intensified consumption patterns with rising levels of disorder among adolescents who use substances. This picture may reflect the greater potency, availability and accessibility of substances, vulnerabilities related to poor mental health, minoritization, as well as social factors including pandemic stressors, commercial and regulatory forces - in short, features of the agent (substance), host (person), and environment (context), consistent with a public health formulation. Understanding trends in youth substance use and related problems, especially in the context of contributing factors, is critical for informing clinical care strategies and public health interventions to improve outcomes for youth across diverse populations.
青少年和青年的物质使用仍然是一个关键的公共卫生问题，近年来其模式发生了巨大变化。本叙述性综述探讨了2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间及之后物质使用行为的趋势。
流行病学证据显示，使用大多数物质的青少年比例有所下降，但在使用物质的青少年中，消费模式加剧，紊乱程度上升。这种情况可能反映了物质的更强效力、可获得性和可及性、与心理健康不佳、少数族裔化相关的脆弱性，以及包括大流行压力源、商业和监管力量在内的社会因素——简而言之，即病原体（物质）、宿主（人）和环境（背景）的特征，这与公共卫生模式一致。了解青少年物质使用趋势及相关问题，尤其是在相关影响因素背景下，对于为临床护理策略和公共卫生干预措施提供信息以改善不同人群青少年的结局至关重要。
