The Early Impact of Social Distancing Measures on Drug Use

Christie, Nina C.; Vojvodic, Vanya; Monterosso, John

doi:10.1080/10826084.2021.1901934

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…We also found that the moderate-to-severe profile had greater psychological impacts of COVID-19 than the severe profile. Although somewhat surprising, a key distinction between these two profiles was the frequency of substance use, an unhealthy coping style that students often use to alleviate distress (Christie et al, 2021 ). Given that substance use often exacerbates mental health concerns, students who are experiencing mental distress but using fewer substances (i.e., moderate-to-severe profile) may be more aware of the psychological impacts from COVID-19 than students who may be using substances to cope with mental distress (i.e., severe profile).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Risk Profiles and Related Substance Use During Coronavirus Pandemic Among College Students Who Use Substances

Villarosa‐Hurlocker

Madson

Lui

et al. 2022

Int J Ment Health Addiction

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College students have shown elevated mental distress during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). The extent and persistence of mental distress as COVID-19 restrictions have continued is unclear. This study used latent profile analysis to identify student mental health risk subgroups and to evaluate subgroups in relation with substance use. A four-profile solution was supported with a sample of 930 college students (69.6% female, 58.1% White) from 11 US-based institutions. Students were characterized by slight mental health symptoms, mild mental health symptoms, moderate-to-severe mental health symptoms with mild psychosis/substance use, and severe mental health symptoms. The severe profile comprised more ethnoracial or sexual minorities and students impacted from COVID-19. Whereas the severe profile had more alcohol-related consequences, the slight profile had fewer cannabis-related consequences. COVID-19 has exacerbated college student risks for psychiatric disorders. Students of diverse backgrounds and more impacted by COVID-19 show disproportionately more mental distress and related substance use.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Risk Profiles and Related Substance Use During Coronavirus Pandemic Among College Students Who Use Substances

Villarosa‐Hurlocker

Madson

Lui

et al. 2022

Int J Ment Health Addiction

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“…Initial evidence suggests that social distancing had a differential impact on drug use, conditional on the drug of choice. 9…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing Trends in Drug Overdose Mortality in Kentucky: An Examination of Race and Ethnicity, Age, and Contributing Drugs, 2016-2020

et al. 2022

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Objectives: Increased drug overdose mortality among non-Hispanic Black people in the United States in the past 5 years highlights the need for better tailored programs and services. We evaluated (1) changes in drug overdose mortality for various racial and ethnic groups and (2) drug involvement to inform drug overdose prevention efforts in Kentucky. Methods: We used Kentucky death certificates and postmortem toxicology reports from 2016-2020 (provisional data) to estimate changes in age-adjusted drug overdose death rates per 100 000 standard population. Results: The age-adjusted drug overdose death rate per 100 000 standard population among non-Hispanic Black residents doubled from 2016 (21.2) to 2020 (46.0), reaching the rate among non-Hispanic White residents in 2020 (48.7; P = .48). From 2016 to 2020, about 80% of these drug overdose deaths involved opioids; heroin involvement declined about 20 percentage points; fentanyl involvement increased about 30 percentage points. The number of psychostimulant-involved drug overdose deaths increased 513% among non-Hispanic Black residents and 191% among non-Hispanic White residents. Cocaine-involved drug overdose deaths increased among non-Hispanic Black residents but declined among non-Hispanic White residents. Drug overdose death rates were significantly lower among Hispanic residents than among non-Hispanic White residents. Conclusions: Increased opioid-involved overdose deaths among non-Hispanic Black residents in Kentucky in combination with rapidly expanding concomitant psychostimulant involvement require increased understanding of the social, cultural, and illicit market circumstances driving these rapid trend changes. Our findings underscore the urgent need to expand treatment and harm reduction services to non-Hispanic Black residents with substance use disorder.

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“…The adverse psychological effects of the pandemic include posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation (Murata et al, 2021 ; Rudenstine et al, 2021 ). The pandemic also has affected alcohol and cigarette consumption (Christie et al, 2021 ), coping‐motivated drinking (Wardell et al, 2020 ), and initiation of or increase in substance use to cope with stress or emotions (McKnight‐Eily et al, 2021 ), among others. In the face of “social distancing” recommendations, a loss of social relationships may be contributing to loneliness and a lack of social connectedness, heightening mental health symptomatology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Now amidst the global pandemic, studies of young adults have uncovered potentially elevated levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and substance use, (Rudenstine et al, 2021; Varma et al, 2021) and alarming low levels of social connectedness (Horigian et al, 2020). During the pandemic, social disconnectedness and perceived isolation were also shown to predict higher depression and anxiety symptoms (Santini et al, 2020), while individuals feeling more socially isolated had more severe drug use problems (Christie et al, 2021). Distinct experiences of loneliness and social connectedness could be linked to distinguishable groups with differential outcomes of these symptoms and behaviors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latent class analysis of loneliness and connectedness in US young adults during COVID‐19

2022

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Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic in the United States has exacerbated a number of mental health conditions and problems related to prolonged social isolation. While COVID‐19 has led to greater loneliness and a lack of social connectedness, little is known about who are the most affected and how they are impacted. Therefore, we performed a Latent Class Analysis using items from two scales – the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Social Connectedness Scale – to characterize different experiences of loneliness and connectedness, examine their relationship with mental health and substance use symptoms, including depression, anxiety, drinking, and drug use. Methods Data were drawn from an anonymous one‐time online survey examining the mental health of 1008 young adults (18–35 years old) during COVID‐19. A latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to observe and identify classes based on responses to loneliness and connectedness scale items, and to examine the existence of subgroups among this young adult population. Results We identified a 4‐class model of loneliness and connectedness: (1) Lonely and Disconnected – highest probabilities in items of loneliness and disconnectedness, (2) Moderately Lonely and Disconnected – adaptive levels of some isolation and disconnection during COVID‐19, (3) Ambivalent Feelings – displaying negative responses in particular to negatively‐worded items while simultaneously affirming positively worded items, and (4) Connected and Not Lonely – lowest probabilities in items of loneliness and disconnectedness. Conclusion Key findings include (1) the delineation of classes by levels of loneliness and connectedness showcasing differential mental health and substance use symptoms, (2) the utility of item‐level evaluation with LCA in determining specific classes of people in need of outreach and intervention, and (3) the promise of social connection to bolster resilience in young adults.

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The Early Impact of Social Distancing Measures on Drug Use

Cited by 12 publications

References 22 publications

Mental Health Risk Profiles and Related Substance Use During Coronavirus Pandemic Among College Students Who Use Substances

Mental Health Risk Profiles and Related Substance Use During Coronavirus Pandemic Among College Students Who Use Substances

Changing Trends in Drug Overdose Mortality in Kentucky: An Examination of Race and Ethnicity, Age, and Contributing Drugs, 2016-2020

Latent class analysis of loneliness and connectedness in US young adults during COVID‐19

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