Impacts of COVID-19 on mental health and substance use in youth and young adults

PROJECT ABSTRACT Coincident with the start of our project (R21DA051943), the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered the lives of youth and young adults. In Vermont, "stay home, stay safe" orders were issued in March 2020, with schools closed for the remainder of the academic year and colleges transitioning to remote learning for the end of the spring semester. Disruptions in social interactions typical of adolescence and young adulthood may have resulted in reductions in peer and school influences that impact substance use; they may also have increased social isolation. Risks associated with reductions in these prosocial influences may be magnified by greater exposure to parental or household influences on substance use during this time. National studies document increases in mental health symptoms in response to COVID-related stressors, highlighting vulnerability for depression, anxiety, loneliness, and suicidality in young adults. Mental health symptoms, in turn, are correlated with tobacco and substance use in youth and adults. Preventing COVID-related morbidity and mortality in young people will require ongoing longitudinal tracking of mental health symptoms and rapid intervention to mitigate their effects on substance use. Our study embodies the infrastructure needed to achieve mental health and substance use surveillance and prevention goals. In line with the "time sensitive" nature of the mechanism, we pivoted to add items on COVID-related experiences, distress, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on substance use in the three survey waves in the parent study. This revision proposes three additional waves of data collection in 1,000 youth and young adults within the current project period to document the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth and young adult mental health and substance use from Fall 2020 through Spring 2022. This timeline is also expected to span the release of a vaccine and greater return to in-person school and work. This supplement directly addresses the research priority in NOT-DA-20-047 to use ongoing studies to understand the broad impacts of COVID-19 on substance use: longitudinal surveys collected quarterly in a large sample of youth and young adults will provide fine-grained data on the relationship between COVID-related stressors, mental health, and substance use. Further, given Vermont's rapid return to in-person school for youth and young adults in Fall 2020, data from this study will provide key information on the potential impact on young people of pandemic-related re-opening efforts across the country.