Alcohol, Substance Use, and Behavioral Addictions in Children and Adolescents: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Health and Wellbeing
A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Mental Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 266
Special Issue Editor
2. CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
Interests: social epidemiology; alcohol use; adolescent health; social inequalities in health; drug addiction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Adolescence is a critical developmental period characterized by rapid physical, emotional, and social changes. During this time, young people are particularly vulnerable to experimenting with psychoactive substances and engaging with technologies and digital media that, while not inherently addictive, can lead to problematic behaviors and increase susceptibility to behavioral addictions later in life. Drug use and digital media among adolescents remain a significant public health and social concern, with far-reaching implications for mental health, cognitive development, family relationships, and long-term well-being. While a substantial body of research has been published since the start of the pandemic, the social and developmental circumstances affecting young people have evolved considerably. This underlines the importance of this Special Issue, which examines this critical developmental stage, during which behaviors are formed that influence not only the present, but often persist in adulthood.
This Special Issue aims to promote interdisciplinary research into the psychological, social, cultural and environmental factors that influence adolescents on social media and drug use. Additionally, this Special Issue places particular emphasis on research addressing prevention and intervention strategies, educational programs, and policy initiatives aimed at reducing substance use and media use and its associated harms among young people. Contributions to this Special Issue may include empirical studies, systematic reviews, and theoretical analyses addressing contemporary challenges and innovations in this field. The Special Issue has two objectives: firstly, to integrate diverse perspectives; and secondly, to advance evidence-based knowledge. It is hoped that, by achieving these objectives, more effective prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies for at-risk adolescents will be developed.
Dr. Albert Espelt
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- alcohol
- cannabis
- substance use
- adolescence
- childhood
- social inequalities
- mental health
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