Unemployment and use of drug and alcohol among young people: a longitudinal study in the general population

A prospective study of a representative sample of nearly 2000 young people aged 17–20 years was started in 1985. It was followed up twice, in 1987 and in 1989. The Central Bureau of Statistics in Norway was responsible for the data collection. Sixty-five per cent of the stratified sample (1985) participated in all the three surveys. The aim of this paper has been to explore the relationship between unemployment and the use of drugs and alcohol. The results show that unemployment does not appear to influence the consumption of alcohol. In a high consumption group, unemployment seems to lead to a decrease in alcohol consumption, though there was a clear tendency to increase use of cannabis. The results seem to indicate that there was no increase in use of alcohol or drugs in response to stress as a result of unemployment, though unemployment may lead to a stronger identification with or joining marginalized or deviant subcultures which in turn leads to an increased use of cannabis.