Drug use as a coping style to social isolation by COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the adherence to safety guidelines in Mexico

Abstract

Introduction: in response to the pandemic originated by COVID-19, governments placed in practice a series of safety guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). In Mexico, one of the decisive actions to prevent the disease's spread was social isolation or lockdown. These rigorous proceedings could increase stress experience or other mental health disorders. One of the coping mechanisms used to avoid stress includes drug use. Objective: the study's goal was to evaluate the relationship between drug use (alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis) and adherence to safety guidelines. Method: the association between the variables was assessed with a series of surveys indicating adherence to safety guidelines and drug use, 475 Mexican participants (56.5% females and 43.4% males) completed the study. Results: the results suggest that most participants had low drug abuse levels before and during social isolation. There was a significant decrease in tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis use in both females and males. Upon analyzing guideline adherence, low alcohol use correlated with the safety behavior scale, while tobacco and cannabis correlated with the preventive behavior scale. Discussion: the current Mexican sample had not used drugs to cope during social isolation.