ABSTRACT
This chapter explores if changes in unemployment during this period coincided with changes in substance misuse among rural emerging adults nationally and locally. It seeks to add to a growing literature on uniquely rural patterns of substance misuse, with an emphasis on rural American youth in transition to adulthood between 2009 and 2014. The chapter uses both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the possible link between unemployment and substance misuse nationwide and in New Hampshire, an isolated rural county with a history of economic instability. Prior research on the 'gendered' patterns of substance misuse has revealed fewer sex differences in substance misuse in rural compared to non-rural contexts. The Great Recession has since been linked to changes in US substance use patterns, heavy alcohol consumption and substance use disorder, especially among young adult men. Among participants who indicated that substance misuse was a problem in their communities, some perceived alcohol-related problems to be more serious than other drug-related problems.
