The decline in adolescent substance use across Europe and North America in the early twenty-first century: A result of the digital revolution?

• Published in: International journal of public health Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 229 - 240
• Main Authors: De Looze, Margaretha, van Dorsselaer, S., Stevens, G. W. J. M., Boniel-Nissim, M., Vieno, A., Van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-03-2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alcohol; Drug use; Environmental Health; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Original; Original Article; Public Health; Substance use; Adolescence; Tobacco; Cannabis; Trends over time; Electronic media communication; Europe; Alcohol; Time spent with friends; Internet
• ISSN: 1661-8556; 1661-8564
• DOI: 10.1007/s00038-018-1182-7

Objectives
Increases in electronic media communication (EMC) and decreases in face-to-face peer contact in the evening (FTF) have been thought to explain the recent decline in adolescent substance use (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis). This study addresses this hypothesis, by examining associations between (time trends in) EMC, FTF, and substance use in more than 25 mainly European countries.
Methods
Using 2002–2014 data from the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, we ran multilevel logistic regression analyses to investigate the above associations.
Results
National declines in substance use were associated with declines in FTF, but not with increases in EMC. At the individual level, both EMC and FTF related positively to substance use. For alcohol and cannabis use, the positive association with EMC was stronger in more recent years. Associations between EMC and substance use varied across countries, but this variation could not be explained by the proportion of young people using EMC within countries.
Conclusions
Our research suggests that the decrease in FTF, but not the increase in EMC, plays a role in the recent decrease in adolescent substance use.