Taking stock of youth substance use portrayals: A critical content analysis of Canadian news media, 2016–2024

Abstract

The changing landscape of substance use and related harms, interventions, and priority setting in Canada has intensified public commentary about youth and drugs. Given the politicized nature of these issues and the significant role of media in shaping societal views and responses to substance use, there is pragmatic value in examining how youth substance use is represented in contemporary media coverage, including to identify potential shortcomings. This study employs a mixed-methods critical content and discourse analysis to explore the characteristics and consequences of youth substance use as portrayed in Canadian news media. Data comprise news articles (N = 611) published between 2016 and 2024 and referencing youth substance use, retrieved from Canadian Newsstream. Quantitative content analysis was used to collate information about the Types of Substances commonly referenced in the news media, as well as the Nature of the Problem, Solutions Proposed, and Experts Represented. This informed the qualitative content and discourse analysis, which surfaced key media problem representations related to youth substance use: Uncritical and Generalized Representations of Harms on the Rise, Insufficient Resources, and Youth's Lack of Agency. The analysis also distilled issues pertaining to the solutions proposed in the articles: Missing Youth Perspectives, Downstream Interventions, and Individualistic Solutions Devoid of Context. Together, the study findings explicate how contemporary news media is reflecting and, in turn, shaping public discourses about youth substance use. From these findings, we discuss opportunities to shift media and broader public discourse to more comprehensively frame and address youth substance use.