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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1524375
This article is part of the Research Topic Executive Functions, Reward Systems and Addiction in Adolescents and Young Adults View all 5 articles
Effect of drinking, smoking, and smartphone overdependence on drug addiction among Korean adolescents
Provisionally accepted- 1 College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 2 School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
- 3 College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Introduction: Adolescent brain development increases vulnerability to drug addiction due to diminished impulse control and the presence of mental health disorders. Alcohol consumption, smoking, and smartphone overdependence have been individually associated with higher drug use, but their combined impact on adolescent drug addiction remains underexplored. This study examines the interaction effects of alcohol consumption, smoking, and smartphone overdependence on drug addiction risk among adolescents.Methods: Data were obtained from the 16th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2020), including 54,948 students from 793 schools. Interaction effects of alcohol consumption, smoking, and smartphone overdependence on drug addiction risk were analyzed, along with a dose-response relationship analysis.Results: Alcohol consumption, smoking, and smartphone overdependence were significantly associated with increased drug addiction risk. Earlier initiation of drinking and smoking was linked to a higher risk of drug addiction. A significant interaction effect between alcohol consumption and smartphone overdependence on drug addiction was observed.Conclusions: Alcohol consumption, smoking, and smartphone overdependence significantly elevate the risk of drug addiction among adolescents, with interaction effects exacerbating this vulnerability. Early initiation of drinking and smoking is particularly associated with a heightened addiction risk. A comprehensive understanding of these interaction effects and dose-response relationships is imperative for the formulation of evidence-based, targeted prevention strategies to mitigate adolescent substance use and addiction.
Keywords: Alcohol consumption, Smoking, smartphone overdependence, drug addiction, 49 interaction, adolescent. 50
Received: 07 Nov 2024; Accepted: 17 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lee, Lee and Jeong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Seunghyun Lee, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, 50612, Republic of Korea
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