About 1% Before COVID-19, Dropped to 0.73% During Pandemic
Excessive Smartphone Use Increases Risk of Drug Use
It has been found that the rate of drug use among adolescents temporarily decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but then rebounded more sharply after the return to normal life.
According to the Korean Academy of Addiction Psychiatry on July 13, a research team consisting of Ha Minkyoung, Kim Yoonjin, and Noh Sungwon from Hanyang University published a paper titled "Changes in Adolescent Drug Use Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic" in the latest issue of the academy's journal, Addiction Psychiatry, which includes these findings.
According to the paper, the percentage of adolescents who responded that they had "experienced drug use" decreased from 1.08% before COVID-19 (2018-2019) to 0.73% during the pandemic (2020-2021), but then sharply rebounded to 1.63% after COVID-19 (2022-2023). This result is based on the research team's analysis of the "Adolescent Health Behavior Survey" data, which is conducted annually by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on middle and high school students, using various statistical methods.
The drugs used by these adolescents included tranquilizers, stimulants, sleeping pills, appetite suppressants, narcotic analgesics, glue, marijuana, cocaine, and butane gas. Cases in which the drugs were taken as prescribed by a doctor were excluded.
The research team explained that the risk of drug use during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly lower than before the pandemic, but became significantly higher after the pandemic. They noted that this contrasts with studies showing that marijuana use among American adolescents increased during the pandemic. The researchers interpreted this as a result of strong social distancing and movement restrictions in Korea, which weakened peer relationships and limited access to drugs, temporarily suppressing drug use. They further analyzed that, on the other hand, after the pandemic, drug use may have increased as a way to relieve accumulated negative emotions and the stress of returning to school.
Among female adolescents, the risk of drug use was lower than that of male adolescents before COVID-19, but after the pandemic, the risk became significantly higher than that of male adolescents.
After COVID-19, "excessive smartphone use" emerged as a factor that increased the risk of drug use. The research team explained that this suggests the increase in smartphone use may have served as a pathway to greater access to drugs. In addition, living in childcare facilities, experiencing physical violence, and mental health issues such as depression and suicide consistently acted as factors that increased the risk of drug use before, during, and after the pandemic.
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