The association between problematic social media use and substance use among adolescents in Latvia

Introduction: Social media use is an integral aspect of adolescents’ daily lives, facilitating relationship maintenance and fostering social connectedness However, previous research has indicated that problematic behaviors, including excessive and problematic social media use, may be linked to adverse mental health outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, and an increased risk of substance use This study aimed to examine the prevalence of problematic social media use and its association with substance use among adolescents in Latvia Methods: Data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of Latvian adolescents aged 15-16 years (n = 2726) participating in the 2019 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) Problematic social media use was assessed through self-reported responses on the "Self-perceived problems related to social media use" scale Substance use indicators included alcohol use in the past 30 days, instances of being drunk in the past 30 days, electronic cigarette use in the past 30 days, daily cigarette smoking, and cannabis use in the past 12 months Logistic regression models were employed to evaluate unadjusted and adjusted associations between problematic social media use and substance use, as well as examining the interaction with sex Results: Problematic social media use was reported by 50.6% of adolescents, with higher prevalence among girls (p < 0.001) and adolescents from families with higher self-perceived economic status (p < 0.05). Problematic social media use was associated with higher odds of using alcohol in the past 30 days – OR=1.43 for girls and OR=1.47 for boys (p < 0.05). Adolescents with problematic social media use had 40% higher odds of being drunk in the past 30 days (p < 0.05) than adolescents without problematic social media use. No statistically significant associations were found with cigarette smoking, e-cigarette use, or cannabis use Conclusions: Problematic social media use was significantly associated with higher odds of alcohol consumption and being drunk in the past 30 days among Latvian adolescents. These findings align with the theory of adolescent risk behaviors, and suggest that exposure to alcohol-related content on social media may influence substance use patterns in this population