Alcohol and marijuana use is down among teenage gamers

Alba Junquera 

The study, funded by the Directorate General for Gambling Regulation, describes the prevalence of and factors associated with substance use among young gamblers aged 14 to 18. To this end, an observational study was conducted comparing data from the Survey on Drug Use in Secondary Education (ESTUDES), carried out in 2018 and another in 2021, allowing researchers to examine the situation both before and after the pandemic. The sample consisted of 7.960 students.

The substances studied were alcohol, marijuana, hashish, cocaine, and various types of psychoactive drugs. The effects of sociodemographic variables, variables related to video games and the internet, risk perception, and the availability of the aforementioned substances were also estimated.

The results, published in the journal Scientific ReportsThe study showed a decrease in alcohol and marijuana use between 2018 and 2021. Furthermore, a higher likelihood of substance use was found among 17- and 18-year-old gamblers. Young people who gamble and reported easy access to these substances showed a greater likelihood of using alcohol, marijuana, tranquilizers, sedatives, and cocaine, among others. This group also reported not perceiving any health risks associated with substance use. The study also revealed that marijuana and alcohol are the most commonly used substances.

This work has been developed by two research groups from URJC: The high-performance research group in Humanities and qualitative research in Health Sciences (Hum&QRinHS) and the consolidated research group in Drug Epidemiology (RESEPMED).

“These results have important implications for the prevention and management of substance use in adolescent gamers,” highlights Domingo Palacios Ceña, principal investigator of the project.

The study concludes with the need to develop specific programs targeting higher-risk substance use and to strengthen awareness campaigns about its consequences for health and society. Furthermore, it proposes incorporating into the scientific, political, and security debate a reevaluation of the measures regulating adolescents' access to both legal and illegal substances.