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Review
. 2022 Sep;52(9):101265.
doi: 10.1016/j.cppeds.2022.101265. Epub 2022 Sep 29.

Stimulant misuse among youth

Natalie J LaBossier  1 , Scott E Hadland  2
Affiliations
Review

Stimulant misuse among youth

Natalie J LaBossier et al. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

Rates of stimulant use, including misuse of prescription stimulants and use of cocaine and methamphetamine, are rising rapidly among adolescents and young adults ("youth"). Stimulant misuse is associated with overdose, polysubstance use, substance use disorders, and other medical harms. Substance use is often initiated during adolescence and young adulthood, and interventions during these crucial years have the potential to impact the lifetime risk of stimulant use disorder and associated harms. In this narrative review, we review recent data on prescription and illicit stimulant use in youth. We describe the rising contribution of stimulants to polysubstance use involving opioids and other substances and to overdose, as well as ways to minimize harm. We also discuss prescription stimulant misuse, which is especially prevalent among youth relative to other age groups, and the limited evidence on potential pathways from prescription stimulant use to illicit stimulant use. Last, we assess potential strategies for the prevention and treatment of stimulant use disorder in youth.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose. The funder/sponsor did not participate in the work.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Past-year use of cocaine, Monitoring the Future, United States, 2005–2020.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Past-year use of amphetamine (panel A) and methamphetamine (panel B), Monitoring the Future, United States, 2005–2020. Note that methamphetamine is considered a subtype of amphetamine in Monitoring the Future data reporting.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Past-year use of amphetamine (panel A) and methamphetamine (panel B), Monitoring the Future, United States, 2005–2020. Note that methamphetamine is considered a subtype of amphetamine in Monitoring the Future data reporting.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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