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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2021) | Viewed by 27026

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kara Thompson

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Guest Editor

Department of Psychology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS B2G 2W5, Canada
Interests: child and youth health; substance use; alcohol use; marijuana use; co-use; mental health; policy; prevention; harm reduction; developmental methodology; quantitative statistics; program evaluation

Prof. Dr. Scott Leatherdale

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Guest Editor

School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Interests: youth risk behaviour surveillance; natural experiment evaluation; predictors of substance use (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, vaping); poly-substance use and trajectories of onset; substance use and mental health; comprehensive school health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Conor Gilligan

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Guest Editor

School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia
Interests: adolescent alcohol consumption; the role of parents in young people’s alcohol use; social norms relating to alcohol use; qualitative and quantitative research methodology

Dr. Hannah Allen

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Guest Editor

College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, 325 Health and Human Development Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Interests: substance use; alcohol use; mental health; young adulthood; academic achievement; employment; prevention; longitudinal data; ecological momentary assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The high rates of substance use among youth (particularly alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine products), and the negative effects on their well-being, are a significant public health issue. Globally, rates of substance use during adolescence and young adulthood are higher than at any other age across the lifespan. Youth are also more likely to use substances in risky ways contributing to high rates of unintentional injuries and death, as well as a variety of social problems, such as academic difficulties and mental health. This Special Issue seeks to advance our understanding of the dynamic and emerging substance use trends and correlates of use among youth and inform public health responses to mitigate substance-related risk. Manuscripts that advance our knowledge on the antecedents, consequences, and prevention of youth substance use are welcome. The population of interest includes adolescents (12–17 years of age) and young adults (18–25 years of age). Both qualitative and quantitative studies are encouraged. Papers that focus on the risks associated with polysubstance use and other high-risk and emerging substance use trends among youth (i.e., vaping, use of edibles, misuse of prescription drugs) are preferred.

The keywords listed below provide an outline of some of the possible areas of interest.

Dr. Kara Thompson
Prof. Dr. Scott Leatherdale
Prof. Dr. Conor Gilligan
Dr. Hannah Allen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Polysubstance use/Co-use
Alcohol
Cannabis
Quantitative
Qualitative
Prevention
Use patterns
Harm reduction
Acute harm
Chronic or long-term harm

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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19 pages, 676 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identity (Re)Construction of Female Adolescents with Substance Use Disorders

by Danielle Treiber and Lize A. E. Booysen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 7022; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137022 - 30 Jun 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3543

Abstract

Identity formation is a developmental milestone for adolescents, and their identities are constructed and re-constructed through their interactions with others and contextual factors in their environment. When considering adolescents with substance use disorders (SUD), often this developmental milestone is misappropriated, misunderstood, and misrepresented. The purpose of this article was to explore how adolescents with substance use disorders form identity and construct a sense of self. Firstly, we explored the identity formation and reconstruction of 20 female adolescents with SUDs based on an in-depth grounded theory methodology (GTM) which included a situational analysis (SA). Secondly, we offered a theoretical model to explain identity construction and reconstruction of adolescents with SUDs that emerged from this research. We conclude this article with practical implications for treatment, and care of adolescents with SUDs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent Substance Use and Related Harms)

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12 pages, 497 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Anxiety, Cannabis Use Motives, and Social Context’s Impact on Willingness to Use Cannabis

by Elise Garrison, Conor Gilligan, Benjamin O. Ladd and Kristen G. Anderson

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4882; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094882 - 4 May 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4414

Abstract

Social anxiety is often purported to be a risk factor for increased cannabis use. Cannabis use motives are strong explanatory predictors of cannabis use embedded within social contexts. This investigation explored the impact of social anxiety, cannabis motives, and their interaction on willingness to use cannabis in a community sample of emerging adults. Social anxiety was anticipated to positively correlate with coping and conformity motives and greater willingness to use cannabis in peer social contexts. Motives to use were hypothesized to potentiate social anxiety’s influence on cannabis use decision-making. In total, 124 participants completed an audio simulation of social cannabis use contexts (Can-SIDE) and standard measures of social anxiety (SIAS) and use motives (MMM). Contrary to expectations, social anxiety exerted a protective effect on willingness to use cannabis, but only when conformity, social, and expansion motives were at or below average. These effects varied by social contexts of use. Social anxiety leading to increased cannabis use may be most apparent in clinical samples and in high-risk cannabis users, but this pattern was not supported in this sample of community living emerging adults below clinical cutoffs for cannabis use disorder with relatively high social anxiety. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent Substance Use and Related Harms)

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12 pages, 2264 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Individual, Familial and Parental Factors on Adolescent Smoking in Turkey

by Coskun Oztekin, Mehak Batra, Shady Abdelsalam, Tijen Sengezer, Adem Ozkara and Bircan Erbas

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(7), 3740; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073740 - 2 Apr 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2613

Abstract

The burden of adolescent cigarette smoking is substantial. We assess mothers’ and fathers’ attitudes and behaviours on adolescent smoking using a cross-sectional study of n = 707 adolescents. Associations between parental attitudes and behaviours in adolescent smoking were assessed using logistic regression separately for boys and girls. Occasional alcohol use by both parents increased odds of smoking once a day (OR = 2.44, 95% CI 1.26, 4.71, OR = 1.51, 95% CI 0.97, 2.35, respectively). Fathers smoking increased odds for girls (OR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.01, 2.52). A democratic mother decreased odds for boys (OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.10, 0.93) whereas a protective, demanding mother increased the odds for girls (OR = 8.65, 95% CI 1.38, 54.22). Public health smoking prevention programs could support changing parental behaviours and attitudes in early years to address this burden in countries with authoritarian parenting styles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent Substance Use and Related Harms)

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11 pages, 331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Co-Use of Alcohol and Cannabis: Longitudinal Associations with Mental Health Outcomes in Young Adulthood

by Kara Thompson, Maria Holley, Clea Sturgess and Bonnie Leadbeater

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(7), 3652; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073652 - 31 Mar 2021

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 4652

Abstract

Increases in cannabis use among young people has heightened concern about the potential interactive health effects of cannabis with other drugs. We examined the longitudinal association between concurrent and simultaneous (SAM) co-use of alcohol and cannabis in young adulthood on mental health symptoms, substance use behaviors, and substance-related harms two years later. Data were drawn from Time 5 (T5; n = 464; 46% male) and 6 (T6; n = 478; 45% male) of the Victoria Healthy Youth Survey. At T5, 42% of participants used alcohol-only, 13% used concurrently, 41% used SAM, 1% were cannabis only users, and 3% abstained from cannabis and alcohol. Boys were more likely to use SAM. Higher T5 SAM use frequency was associated with heavier use of substances, more substance-related harms, and symptoms of psychosis and externalizing problems at T6. T5 Concurrent use was associated with conduct symptoms, illicit drug use, and alcohol use disorders at T6 relative to alcohol-only use. Cannabis is commonly used with alcohol and the findings suggest that any co-use (concurrent or simultaneous) may be problematic in young adulthood. Public health messages need to explicitly inform consumers about the possible consequences of using both alcohol and marijuana and the addictive pharmacological impact of using them together. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent Substance Use and Related Harms)

13 pages, 1066 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Mediating Effects of Protective Behavioral Strategies on the Relationship between Addiction-Prone Personality Traits and Alcohol-Related Problems among Emerging Adults

by Raquel Nogueira-Arjona, Kara Thompson, Athena Milios, Alyssa Maloney, Terry Krupa, Keith S. Dobson, Shu-Ping Chen and Sherry H. Stewart

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(4), 1814; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041814 - 12 Feb 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3310

Abstract

Alcohol consumption and associated harms are an issue among emerging adults, and protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are actions with potential to minimize these harms. We conducted two studies aimed at determining whether the associations of at-risk personality traits (sensation-seeking [SS], impulsivity [IMP], hopelessness [HOP], and anxiety-sensitivity [AS]) with increased problematic alcohol use could be explained through these variables’ associations with decreased PBS use. We tested two mediation models in which the relationship between at-risk personality traits and increased problematic alcohol use outcomes (Study 1: Alcohol volume; Study 2: Heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related harms) was partially mediated through decreased PBS use. Two samples of college students participated (N₁ = 922, Mage₁ = 20.11, 70.3% female; N₂ = 1625, Mage₂ = 18.78, 70.3% female). Results partially supported our hypotheses, providing new data on a mechanism that helps to explain the relationships between certain at-risk personality traits and problematic alcohol use, as these personalities are less likely to use PBS. In contrast, results showed that AS was positively related to alcohol-related harms and positively related to PBS, with the mediational path through PBS use being protective against problematic alcohol use. This pattern suggests that there are other factors/mediators working against the protective PBS pathway such that, overall, AS still presents risks for alcohol-related harms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent Substance Use and Related Harms)

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13 pages, 607 KiB

Open AccessArticle

E-Cigarette-Only and Dual Use among Adolescents in Ireland: Emerging Behaviours with Different Risk Profiles

by Andrea K. Bowe, Frank Doyle, Debbi Stanistreet, Emer O’Connell, Michéal Durcan, Emmet Major, Diarmuid O’Donovan and Paul Kavanagh

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(1), 332; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010332 - 5 Jan 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5111

Abstract

E-cigarette-only use and dual-use are emerging behaviours among adolescent nicotine product users which have not yet been sufficiently explored. This study examines the prevalence of, and the factors associated with, nicotine product use in adolescence. The study is a cross-sectional analysis of the 2018 Planet Youth survey completed by 15–16 year olds in the West of Ireland in 2018. The outcome of interest was current nicotine product use, defined as use at least once in the past 30 days. A main effects multinomial logistic regression model was used to examine the association between potential risk and protective factors and nicotine product use. Among 4422 adolescents 22.1% were current nicotine product users, consisting of 5.1% e-cigarette only users, 7.7% conventional cigarette only users, and 9.3% dual-users. For risk factors, the odds of association were weaker for e-cigarette only use compared to conventional cigarette and dual use. Participating in team sport four times/week or more significantly reduced the odds of conventional cigarette and dual use but had no association with e-cigarette only use (Cig: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44–0.90; Dual-use: AOR 0.63, 95% CI 0.43–0.93). Similarly, having higher value for conventional social norms reduced the odds of conventional cigarette and dual use but not e-cigarette only use. This is the first study to show, among a generalisable sample, that dual-use is the most prevalent behaviour among adolescent nicotine product users in Ireland. Risk factor profiles differ across categories of use and prevention initiatives must be cognisant of this. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent Substance Use and Related Harms)

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5 pages, 298 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Association between Friends’ Use of Nicotine and Cannabis and Intake of both Substances among Adolescents

by Rachel Herold, Rachel Boykan, Allison Eliscu, Héctor E. Alcalá and Maciej L. Goniewicz

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(2), 695; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020695 - 15 Jan 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2461

Abstract

Nicotine and cannabis use are common among adolescents and may be associated with behavioral problems, poor academic outcomes and use disorders. The goals of this analysis were the following: (1) Describe the influence of friends’ nicotine and cannabis smoking and vaping on self-reported use. (2) Describe the relationship between friends’ nicotine and cannabis use on participants’ urinary biomarkers of nicotine (cotinine) and cannabis (11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ⁹tetrahydrocannabinol=THC-COOH). This is a secondary analysis of survey and biomarker data collected in adolescents aged 12–21 between April 2017 and April 2018, in Long Island, New York. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted using SPSS 26. A cutoff value of ≥10 ng/mL was used to signify recent usage for urinary cotinine and THC-COOH levels. Over one-third of the 517 surveyed adolescents reported using tobacco and one-third reported using cannabis. A significant relationship between friends’ substance use and self-use was found. For both tobacco and cannabis, over 90% (p < 0.01) of participants with urinary biomarker levels above cutoff had friends who used the respective substance. Friends’ nicotine and friends’ cannabis use were each independently associated with urinary biomarker levels for those substances (for nicotine, beta = 88.29, p = 0.03; for cannabis, beta = 163.58, p = 0.03). Friends’ use of nicotine and cannabis is associated with adolescents’ intake, as well as the physiological exposure to those substances. These findings underscore the importance of including peer influence in the discussion with adolescents about tobacco and cannabis use. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent Substance Use and Related Harms)

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