Exposure to neighborhood violence and substance use among adolescents: Findings from a population-based study

Although research shows that adolescents who are exposed to neighborhood violence (NV) are more likely to use substances to cope with the trauma associated with NV, most of these studies are from small and unrepresentative samples that often lack diversity. Drawing on a large nationally representative sample of adolescents, the objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence of exposure to NV, and the cross-sectional association between exposure to NV and different types of substance use.

Data for this study were obtained from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 20,005 adolescents aged 14-18 (50.3 % male) was analyzed using binary logistic regression. Outcome variables investigated were current cigarette smoking, alcohol use, electronic vaping products (EVP) use, marijuana use, and prescription opioid misuse (POM). The main explanatory variable was exposure to NV.

Current use of substances among adolescents is as follows: alcohol use (21.9 %), EVP use (18.6 %), marijuana use (17.7 %), POM (5.2 %), and cigarette smoking (4.2 %). In the multivariable logistic regression model, adolescents exposed to NV had higher odds of smoking cigarettes, using alcohol, using EVP, using marijuana, and misusing prescription opioids.

The findings of this study highlight that promoting safer neighborhoods may be effective at reducing both NV and substance use among adolescents. However, given that the study is cross-sectional, we are unable to establish a clear cause-and-effect associations, therefore, longitudinal evidence is warranted.