Substance Use among Emerging Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review through the Lens of Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Public health initiatives, including lockdowns to reduce the spread of COVID-19, have resulted in societal stressors like loneliness, job loss, and economic collapse linked to worsening mental health outcomes, such as depression, anxiety, and coping-related substance use. The various psychosocial stressors caused by the pandemic have potentially led to the increased use of substances across the globe, particularly among emerging adults. The current study summarises the literature on substance use among emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. The terms “coronavirus”, “COVID-19”, “substance use”, “substance abuse”, “drug use”, drug abuse”, “emerging adults”, and “young adults” were all used in different combinations throughout the search, using the Scopus, PubMed, and JSTOR databases. Using this method, a total of 28 English-language citations published between 2020 and 2023 were obtained. Following a study of the articles mentioned above, 16 papers were removed. The remaining 12 papers were included in this review. Even though substance use dropped when COVID-19 lockdowns began, it rose when restrictions were removed, particularly among those with prior substance use. Studies related to mental health need to assess substance use, as many emerging adults use substances to cope with distress, including isolation and loneliness, which are part of the current mental health crisis among emerging adults.