New insights into adolescent substance use
With substance use among youth remaining a public health concern in Europe, effective prevention measures are needed. Such measures require updated and pertinent theoretical contexts and empirical studies to help explain the origins of and reasons behind substance use. As such, the EU-funded project SUNT (Developing the substance use normalization theory (SUNT): Explaining adolescent substance use in contemporary society) developed a new theoretical framework. Its aim was to develop SUNT as a way to explain adolescent substance use today. In combination with social control theory, a unique measure was created to show how substance use is not regarded as a violation of cultural codes in some historical time periods. According to expectations based on low cannabis prevalence rates in all countries studied, the first set of analysis showed no evidence of normalisation for recent cannabis use. Additionally, in line with the Normalisation Theory, results indicated that for substance use above 40 % in at least some of the countries studied, adolescents who reported use are less likely to report social and behavioural risk factors in high prevalence countries than in low prevalence countries. However, results show that in models where evidence for normalisation was found, there are risk factors that predict substance use to an equal degree regardless of country level prevalence rates. Novel analysis of secondary data was carried out based on a study providing nationally representative samples of youth from 43 countries. Multilevel modelling was used and the normalisation theory was tested and interpreted. Research meetings and discussions were coordinated and several papers were published. Results from the project can have an impact on combating adolescent substance use in Europe and elsewhere via an international research collaborative network. They can also inform policymakers on contemporary patterns of adolescent substance use and have implications for current policy changes, for example with regard to the legalisation of cannabis).
