Adolescent Substance Use Among High School Students Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study of Peer Exposure and Risk
Less in-school peer exposure during a critical developmental period was associated with reduced substance use initiation and progression. These findings highlight the importance of in-school exposure to peers in adolescent substance use trajectories. Future research should investigate specific mechanisms of peer influence-such as substance availability on campus-to inform targeted prevention and early intervention strategies.
Authors
- Sitara M. Weerakoon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1006-1950)
- Elizabeth H. Connors (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1180-4552)
- Kathryn Clark
- Maegan Genovese
- Sydney C. Simmons (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4275-3348)
- Jacob Kraemer Tebes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0118-289X)
- Michael N. Awad
Institutions
- Yale University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Substance Use & Misuse
- Published
- 2025-12-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2583462
- Primary Topic
- Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00