A multinational study of psychosocial stressors and symptoms associated with increased substance use during the early wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of polysubstance use
We launched a multinational study to examine changes in substance use during the early phase of the pandemic and to identify factors related to these changes, with a specific focus on the effect of polysubstance use in increasing nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis use. This study was conducted using an...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311908.2022.2054162 |
| _version_ | 1818009987177250816 |
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| author | Arwa Ben Salah Briana N DeAngelis Daniela Morales Stephan Bongard Luke Leufen Ryan Johnson Marina Olmos Shah Alam Svetlana Kuzmina Susan Levenstein Bingshuo Li Solomon Renati Mustafa al'Absi |
| author_facet | Arwa Ben Salah Briana N DeAngelis Daniela Morales Stephan Bongard Luke Leufen Ryan Johnson Marina Olmos Shah Alam Svetlana Kuzmina Susan Levenstein Bingshuo Li Solomon Renati Mustafa al'Absi |
| author_sort | Arwa Ben Salah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We launched a multinational study to examine changes in substance use during the early phase of the pandemic and to identify factors related to these changes, with a specific focus on the effect of polysubstance use in increasing nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis use. This study was conducted using an online survey in English and seven other languages. The survey included measures focusing on substance use, psychological symptoms, stress, and other health and psychosocial measures. A total sample of 2907 participants was included. The results showed that higher levels of perceived social isolation, depression, and anxiety during the pandemic were associated with increases in nicotine use. Increased alcohol use was associated with feelings of uncertainty and increased depression and anxiety symptoms. Polysubstance use was associated with increases in use of cannabis and alcohol during the pandemic; co-use of cannabis and alcohol increased chances for escalating alcohol use; and increases in cannabis use were influenced by the number rather than the types of substances being used. These results demonstrate a link between COVID-19 related psychological distress and increased substance use during the first wave of the pandemic. They also point-out the contribution of pre-COVID polysubstance use in increases in substance use during COVID-19. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:49:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bcc19cfc2b9c488d805bb20a8df0a1f7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2331-1908 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:49:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-bcc19cfc2b9c488d805bb20a8df0a1f72022-12-22T02:09:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Psychology2331-19082022-12-019110.1080/23311908.2022.2054162A multinational study of psychosocial stressors and symptoms associated with increased substance use during the early wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of polysubstance useArwa Ben Salah0Briana N DeAngelis1Daniela Morales2Stephan Bongard3Luke Leufen4Ryan Johnson5Marina Olmos6Shah Alam7Svetlana Kuzmina8Susan Levenstein9Bingshuo Li10Solomon Renati11Mustafa al'Absi12Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine of Monastir, University of Monastir, Monastir, TunisiaDepartment of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth & Minneapolis, USADepartment of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth & Minneapolis, USADepartment of Psychology, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, GermanyFaculty of Communication and Environment, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kamp-Lintfort, GermanyDepartment of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth & Minneapolis, USADevelopmental and Educational Psychology, University of Murcia, SpainDepartment of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaDepartment of Psychiatry, Kazan State Medical University, Kazan, RussiaAventino Medical Group, Rome, ItalyNetherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Noord-Holland, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology, Veer Wajekar Arts, Science & Commerce College, Navi Mumbai, IndiaDepartment of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth & Minneapolis, USAWe launched a multinational study to examine changes in substance use during the early phase of the pandemic and to identify factors related to these changes, with a specific focus on the effect of polysubstance use in increasing nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis use. This study was conducted using an online survey in English and seven other languages. The survey included measures focusing on substance use, psychological symptoms, stress, and other health and psychosocial measures. A total sample of 2907 participants was included. The results showed that higher levels of perceived social isolation, depression, and anxiety during the pandemic were associated with increases in nicotine use. Increased alcohol use was associated with feelings of uncertainty and increased depression and anxiety symptoms. Polysubstance use was associated with increases in use of cannabis and alcohol during the pandemic; co-use of cannabis and alcohol increased chances for escalating alcohol use; and increases in cannabis use were influenced by the number rather than the types of substances being used. These results demonstrate a link between COVID-19 related psychological distress and increased substance use during the first wave of the pandemic. They also point-out the contribution of pre-COVID polysubstance use in increases in substance use during COVID-19.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311908.2022.2054162COVID-19psychosocial stressdepressive and anxiety symptomssubstance usepolysubstance use |
| spellingShingle | Arwa Ben Salah Briana N DeAngelis Daniela Morales Stephan Bongard Luke Leufen Ryan Johnson Marina Olmos Shah Alam Svetlana Kuzmina Susan Levenstein Bingshuo Li Solomon Renati Mustafa al'Absi A multinational study of psychosocial stressors and symptoms associated with increased substance use during the early wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of polysubstance use Cogent Psychology COVID-19 psychosocial stress depressive and anxiety symptoms substance use polysubstance use |
| title | A multinational study of psychosocial stressors and symptoms associated with increased substance use during the early wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of polysubstance use |
| title_full | A multinational study of psychosocial stressors and symptoms associated with increased substance use during the early wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of polysubstance use |
| title_fullStr | A multinational study of psychosocial stressors and symptoms associated with increased substance use during the early wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of polysubstance use |
| title_full_unstemmed | A multinational study of psychosocial stressors and symptoms associated with increased substance use during the early wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of polysubstance use |
| title_short | A multinational study of psychosocial stressors and symptoms associated with increased substance use during the early wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of polysubstance use |
| title_sort | multinational study of psychosocial stressors and symptoms associated with increased substance use during the early wave of the covid 19 pandemic the role of polysubstance use |
| topic | COVID-19 psychosocial stress depressive and anxiety symptoms substance use polysubstance use |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311908.2022.2054162 |
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