Associations Between U.S. High-School Student and Parental Job Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Student...

Job loss among both adults and adolescents increased markedly early in the COVID-19 pandemic. While parental job loss has been associated with the adverse effects, including adolescent substance use, no research is available on the effects of adolescent job loss on substance use.

Analyses of Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES) data from January to June 2021 were conducted to assess associations between parent and student pre-pandemic employment status and pandemic-era job loss and adolescent substance use behaviors. Cigarette, electronic vapor product (EVP), alcohol, and drug use were examined in a nationally representative sample of 7,705 U.S. high-school students.

Compared to students who did not lose their job during the pandemic, students reporting job loss had significantly elevated prevalences of current EVP use (29.9% vs. 19.7%), drinking more alcohol during the pandemic (25.3% vs. 16.7%), and current marijuana use (25.8% vs. 15.6%). Additionally, parental job loss was significantly associated with all substance use behaviors.

Higher levels of substance use associated with student and parental job loss, as well as parental unemployment, indicate that care may be needed for those students experiencing these losses. School-based intervention and prevention programs, including job loss supports for students, could be useful.