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PubMed1990

Predicting marijuana use among adolescents.

The present paper (1) contrasts the prevalence of marijuana use and involvement with marijuana among 194 delinquent and 405 nondelinquent adolescents, (2) examines the utility of an expanded version of Jessor and Jessor's (1977) problem behavior model in predicting adolescent marijuana use, and (3) tests the relative importance of the predictors of marijuana use. Personality variables that were added to the Jessor problem behavior model included: (1) stimulus reducing - augmenting, (2) ego strength, (3) anxiety, and (4) field dependence. Results showed that delinquents reported using marijuana more often than nondelinquents. In the multiple regression analyses the expanded model explained a slightly greater percentage of the variance in adolescent marijuana use than the Jessor and Jessor model. Of the added personality variables, the Vando (1969) Reducer--Augmenter dimension seemed to be a particularly significant predictor. In addition, reducing--augmenting seemed to be a better predictor of involvement with marijuana than several previously used personality and demographic variables since it replaced these in the final regression equation. Perceived environment variables measuring pressure from friends to use marijuana and friends as models for marijuana use were the best predictors of marijuana use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Heavy alcohol use compared to alcohol and marijuana use: do college students experience a difference in substance use problems?

This study examines the risk for alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems resulting from alcohol plus marijuana use compared to alcohol-only use. Data are from telephone interviews with 1113 randomly selected college students attending two large urban universities in the southwestern United States. Alcohol and marijuana users (dual users) were more likely to be younger and report a higher mean number of drinks per occasion and experiencing all AOD problems studied compared to alcohol-only users. Multivariate logistic regression analysis findings reveal the relationship between dual-substance use and increased risk for AOD problems remained after controlling for demographics and alcohol use behaviors. Such problems include greater odds of legal problems and riding with or being an intoxicated driver. College students using alcohol and marijuana are at much higher risk for AOD problems than are students who use alcohol only, even when heavy drinking is taken into account.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Marijuana use motives: concurrent relations to frequency of past 30-day use and anxiety sensitivity among young adult marijuana smokers.

The present investigation examined two theoretically relevant aspects of marijuana motives using the Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM) [Simons, J., Correia, C. J., Carey, K. B., & Borsari, B. E. (1998). Validating a five-factor marijuana motives measure: Relations with use, problems, and alcohol motives. Journal of Counseling Psychology 45, 265-273] among 141 (78 female) young adults (M(age)=20.17, S.D.=3.34). The first objective was to evaluate the incremental validity of marijuana motives in relation to frequency of past 30-day use after controlling for the theoretically relevant factors of the number of years using marijuana (lifetime), current levels of alcohol, as well as tobacco smoking use. As expected, coping, enhancement, social, and expansion motives each were uniquely and significantly associated with past 30-day marijuana use over and above the covariates; conformity motives were not a significant predictor. A second aim was to explore whether coping, but no other marijuana motive, was related to the emotional vulnerability individual difference factor of anxiety sensitivity (fear of anxiety). As hypothesized, after controlling for number of years using marijuana (lifetime), past 30-day marijuana use, current levels of alcohol consumption, and cigarettes smoked per day, anxiety sensitivity was incrementally and uniquely related to coping motives for marijuana use, but not other motives. These results are discussed in relation to the clinical implications of better understanding the role of motivation for marijuana use among emotionally vulnerable young adults.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1997

Relationships between frequency and quantity of marijuana use and last year proxy dependence among adolescents and adults in the United States.

The association between levels of marijuana use and last year dependence is investigated in a nationally representative sample of adolescents and adults, who used marijuana within the last year (n = 9284). Data are aggregated from three surveys (1991-1993) of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. A proxy measure of DSM-IV dependence criteria was developed from self-reported symptoms of dependence and drug-related problems. Both frequency and quantity of marijuana use within the last year are linearly associated with the logit of the probability of being dependent on marijuana. The associations vary significantly by age but not gender. Adolescents are dependent at a lower frequency and quantity of use than adults: the differences diverge as level of use increases. Twice as many adolescents as adults who used marijuana near-daily or daily within the last year were identified as being dependent (35% versus 18%). Frequency and quantity of use each retained a unique effect on dependence, but frequency appeared to be more important than quantity in predicting last year dependence. These results provide insight into the processes underlying the age and sex differentials observed in the prevalence of marijuana dependence. The implications of the findings for the epidemiology of marijuana use and dependence are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Media and marijuana: A longitudinal analysis of news media effects on adolescents' marijuana use and related outcomes, 1977-1999.

This study examined how aggregate levels of news coverage about marijuana have impacted adolescents' marijuana behavior generally, and through the intervening variables of personal disapproval and perceived harmfulness of marijuana, two variables that existing research has identified as significant predictors of adolescent marijuana use at the aggregate level. It was hypothesized that news coverage of reasons why people should not use marijuana would cause increase in aggregate marijuana abstinence, perceived harmfulness, and personal disapproval. Conversely, news coverage of positive aspects of marijuana use would cause decreases in marijuana abstinence, perceived harmfulness, and personal disapproval. Results of distributed lagged time-series regression and non-linear modeling offered support for two of the three proposed hypotheses. Aggregate media coverage explained a significant portion of the variation in adolescents' abstinence from marijuana use over time. It also explained a significant portion of the variation in personal disapproval of marijuana. Personal disapproval was found to partially mediate the relationship between media coverage and marijuana abstinence. Implications for the conceptualization of media effects on health behaviors are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Progressions of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in adolescence.

This study examined the progressive relations among adolescent use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana using latent growth curve analyses. Specifically, the present study examined three models to determine (1) the effect of prior cigarette use on alcohol use and development and the relationship between change in cigarette use and the development of alcohol use (N = 115), (2) the effect of prior alcohol use on cigarette use and development and the relationship between change in alcohol use and the development of cigarette use (N = 199); and (3) the effect of prior alcohol and cigarette use on marijuana use and development, and the relationship between change in alcohol use and cigarette use and the development, of marijuana use (N = 287). Support was found for the relation between prior levels of substance use and involvement in other substances. Cigarette use, in particular, was particularly important in the subsequent involvement of alcohol and marijuana.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Medicinal and recreational marijuana use by patients infected with HIV.

The goal of this study was to describe and compare the prevalence, predictors and patterns of marijuana use, specifically medicinal marijuana use among patients with HIV in Ontario, Canada. Any marijuana use in the year prior to interview and self-defined medicinal use were evaluated. A cross-sectional multicenter survey and retrospective chart review were conducted between 1999 and 2001 to evaluate overall drug utilization in HIV, including marijuana use. HIV-positive adults were identified through the HIV Ontario Observational Database (HOOD), 104 consenting patients were interviewed. Forty-three percent of patients reported any marijuana use, while 29% reported medicinal use. Reasons for use were similar by gender although a significantly higher number of women used marijuana for pain management. Overall, the most commonly reported reason for medicinal marijuana use was appetite stimulation/weight gain. Whereas male gender and history of intravenous drug use were predictive of any marijuana use, only household income less than $20,000 CDN was associated with medicinal marijuana use. Age, gender, HIV clinical status, antiretroviral use, and history of intravenous drug use were not significant predictors of medicinal marijuana use. Despite the frequency of medicinal use, minimal changes in the pattern of marijuana use upon HIV diagnosis were reported with 80% of current medicinal users also indicating recreational consumption. Although a large proportion of patients report medicinal marijuana use, overlap between medical and recreational consumption is substantial. The role of poverty in patient choice of medicinal marijuana despite access to care and the large proportion of women using marijuana for pain constitute areas for further study.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Incorporating trend data to aid in the causal interpretation of individual-level correlations among variables: examples focusing on the recent decline in marijuana use.

Given the close correspondence of several trends beginning in 1979, it is tempting to conclude that increases in perceived risk and disapproval led to the decline in actual use of marijuana. In this chapter, two alternative interpretations are considered, reflecting different hypotheses about individual-level causal processes: (1) changes in use led to the changes in attitudes, or (2) changes in some other factor(s) (e.g., increased "conventionality") caused both changes in use and changes in attitudes. This chapter documents a series of analyses designed to untangle such issues by incorporating trend data along with individual-level, cross-sectional relationships. One analysis strategy shows that controlling attitudes could "account for" the time trend in marijuana use, whereas the reverse is not true. The second analysis strategy examines how time trends in marijuana use are affected by multivariate controls for attitudes, as well as other individual characteristics, and shows that only the attitude measures can "explain" the time trend in marijuana use. Although these analyses are viewed as helping to explain the recent secular trend downward in marijuana use, as well as the still more recent decline in cocaine use, their most important contribution to prevention intervention research may be that they support a very basic generalization about individual-level causal processes: individual attitudes about specific drugs affect individuals use of those drugs.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A test of socioeconomic status as a predictor of initial marijuana use.

The current study examined the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) on adolescent marijuana use using data from a national longitudinal survey of subjects aged 11 to 17 (N = 1,725). Both direct and indirect measures of SES (e.g., Hollingshead's measure of SES, predicts marijuana use among adolescents. For males, our study found a nonlinear relationship between the Hollingshead measure and marijuana use that had not been identified in previous research. For females, the Hollingshead measure was nonsignificant when alcohol use and having friends who use marijuana were added to the model. This finding suggests that the effects of SES on marijuana use may be mediated by alcohol use and friends' use of marijuana. Weekly alcohol users were much more likely than nonusers to initiate marijuana use for both males (Odds ratio [OR] = 18.28, Confidence interval [CI] = 4.93-67.81) and females (OR = 11.75, CI = 3.22-42.86). Other significant variables for both sexes included having a job, having friends who use marijuana, and having used some alcohol in the past year. For males, grade point average (GPA), commitment to friends, urbanicity, time spent with friends, and peer strain were also significant predictors of initial marijuana use. For females, prior victimization and low school aspirations were significant. In sum, our findings suggest that psychosocial risk factors for marijuana use are substantially different for males than for females and that future researchers need to test for nonlinear relationships between SES and adolescent substance use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Medicinal marijuana use: experiences of people with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To describe medical marijuana use from the perspectives of patients with multiple sclerosis. DESIGN: A qualitative, descriptive design was used. Participants discussed their medicinal marijuana use in one-to-one, semistructured interviews. SETTING: Interviews were conducted at a time and place convenient to participants. PARTICIPANTS: Six men and eight women with multiple sclerosis participated. METHOD: Potential participants identified themselves to the researcher after receiving an invitation in a mailed survey. Eligibility was confirmed, and purposive sampling was used to recruit subjects. A range of issues emerged from the interviews. Interviews and data analysis continued until saturation occurred. MAIN FINDINGS: Descriptions fell into three broad areas: patterns of use, legal or social concerns, and perceived effects. Consumption patterns ranged from very infrequent to very regular and were influenced by symptoms, social factors, and supply. Legal concerns expressed by most respondents were negligible. Social concerns centred on to whom use was revealed. The perceived benefits of use were consistent with previous reports in the literature: reduction in pain, spasms, tremors, nausea, numbness, sleep problems, bladder and bowel problems, and fatigue and improved mood, ability to eat and drink, ability to write, and sexual functioning. Adverse effects included problems with cognition, balance, and fatigue and the feeling of being high. Although participants described risks associated with using marijuana, the benefits they derived made the risks acceptable. CONCLUSION: Further research is needed to clarify the safety and efficacy of marijuana use by patients with multiple sclerosis. If evidence of benefit is seen, medicinal marijuana should be made available to patients who could benefit from it. Until then, discussing medicinal marijuana use with patients will be awkward for health professionals.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Detection of marijuana use in psychiatric patients by determination of urinary delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-11-oic acid.

Seventy-six male inpatients with diagnoses of schizophrenia, primary affective disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, other personality disorder, and primary substance abuse disorder were screened for the use of marijuana by determination of urinary delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-11-oic acid. Screening was performed to detect marijuana use in asymptomatic patients returning to the ward after passes, and also to elucidate changes in mental state in newly admitted patients and patients who had decompensated during hospitalization. Ward personnel found the screening procedure quite useful and incorporated it into psychotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic interventions. Although susceptible and resistant individuals were found in all diagnostic categories studied, no consistent features were found to distinguish those individuals who exhibited behavioral change in association with marijuana smoking, from those who did not.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Cerebellar infarction in adolescent males associated with acute marijuana use.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the clinical characteristics, radiologic findings, and neuropathological features of tetrahydrocannabinol-related posterior fossa ischemic stroke in adolescent patients. DESIGN: A retrospective case and chart review of 3 cases encountered at a tertiary care institution over a span of 5 years. SETTING: Inpatient and intensive care hospitalization units managing children and adolescents. SUBJECTS: Male adolescent patients with ischemic cerebellar stroke after use of marijuana. DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATIONS: Computed tomography brain scans (3 subjects), magnetic resonance imaging brain study (1 subject), cerebral arteriography (1 subject), cerebellar biopsy (1 subject), and necropsy (2 subjects). RESULTS: Three adolescent males had similar presentations of headache, fluctuating level of consciousness or lethargy, visual disturbance, and variable ataxia after self-administration of marijuana. They developed primary cerebellar infarctions within days after the exposure that could not be attributed to supratentorial herniation syndromes and only minimally involved brainstem structures. CONCLUSIONS: Episodic marijuana use may represent a risk factor for stroke in childhood, particularly in the posterior circulation. Early recognition of the cerebellar stroke syndrome may allow prompt neurosurgical intervention, reducing morbidity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Deterioration of academic achievement and marijuana use onset among rural adolescents.

This study utilizes discrete-time survival analysis to assess the effect of level of academic achievement (both contemporaneously and prospectively) and changes in academic achievement on initiation of marijuana use among rural adolescents in junior high school. In the sample under consideration, 36% of boys and 23% of girls initiated use of marijuana by the end of ninth grade. Consistent with our hypothesis, poor academic achievement is a salient predictor of initiation of marijuana use among both boys and girls. Both contemporaneous and lagged levels of achievement significantly predict initiation. In addition, change in academic achievement is an important predictor of initiation. That is, students who demonstrate a deterioration of their academic achievement over time are more likely to start using marijuana. Poor academic achievement and deterioration of academic achievement should be considered as risk factors for initiation of marijuana use among rural adolescents. Initiatives targeted at improving academic achievement and/or drug use prevention initiatives designed for poor achieving students may help to prevent initiation of marijuana use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Personal strivings and marijuana use initiation, frequency, and problems.

This study examined relations between perceived conflict/utility of marijuana use in achieving valued personal goals and marijuana use initiation, marijuana use frequency, and marijuana-related problems. Personal strivings are higher order goals that may influence marijuana use to the extent that they are congruent or incongruent with use. Participants were 592 young adults who generated lists of personal strivings independent of the substance use assessment. They then evaluated their 10 most important strivings with regard to the perceived conflict/utility of several levels of marijuana use in achieving their most important strivings. Less marijuana use-striving conflict was positively associated with use initiation and frequency. A significant gender interaction emerged in the prediction of use frequency; marijuana use-striving conflict was more strongly associated with use frequency for men than women. The relationship between use-striving conflict and marijuana-related problems was mediated fully by use frequency.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Initial opportunity to use marijuana and the transition to first use: United States, 1979-1994.

A renewed American interest in marijuana has coincided with our research group's focus on the earliest stages of drug involvement. Here, we have studied the transition from an initial opportunity to try marijuana to the subsequent use of this drug. We analyzed self-report interview data gathered from nationally representative samples of the United States National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse, 1979-1994. The evidence indicates that the estimated prevalence of an opportunity to try marijuana has been rather stable for 15 years. However, there are recent increases in the probability of rapidly progressing from first marijuana opportunity to first marijuana use, among persons given an opportunity to use. In addition, the transition from first marijuana opportunity to eventual marijuana use seems to depend upon age at first opportunity. This epidemiological evidence on the transition from marijuana opportunity to marijuana use, the first to be published based on a nationally representative US sample, highlights directions for future research and a focus for prevention efforts.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Prevalence and predictors of "heavy" marijuana use in a Canadian youth sample.

In this investigation, secondary analyses were performed on an extensive database for 473 biological and 128 adoptive families. These data, which were gathered as part of the Vancouver Family Survey, were used to examine the prevalence and predictors of "heavy" marijuana use in a Canadian youth sample aged 14-25. Results in this study showed that 12.6% of the sample reported using marijuana once a week or more. These respondents were categorized as "heavy" marijuana users. Higher levels of life problems were associated with this use pattern. Results from a series of regression analyses suggested that the family, personality, and peer domains all contributed significantly in predicting "heavy" marijuana use. Father's alcoholism and peer illicit drug use had direct relationships with heavy marijuana use in this final model. A possible mediated pathway was also suggested with the Addiction Prone Personality influencing use through its relationship with heavier peer drug use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Increases in alcohol and marijuana use during the transition out of high school into emerging adulthood: The effects of leaving home, going to college, and high school protective factors.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of leaving home and going to college on changes in the frequency of alcohol use, heavy episodic drinking, and marijuana use shortly after leaving high school. We also examined how protective factors in late adolescence predict post-high school substance use and moderate the effects of leaving home and going to college. METHOD: Data came from subjects (N = 319; 53% male) interviewed at the end of 12th grade and again approximately 6 months later, as part of the Raising Healthy Children project. RESULTS: Leaving home and going to college were significantly related to increases in the frequency of alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking from high school to emerging adulthood but not to changes in marijuana use. Having fewer friends who used each substance protected against increases in the frequency of alcohol use, heavy episodic drinking, and marijuana use. Higher religiosity protected against increases in alcohol-and marijuana-use frequency. Higher parental monitoring protected against increases in heavy episodic drinking and moderated the effect of going to college on marijuana use. Lower sensation seeking lessened the effect of going to college on increases in alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking. CONCLUSIONS: To prevent increases in substance use in emerging adulthood, interventions should concentrate on strengthening prosocial involvement and parental monitoring during high school. In addition, youths with high sensation seeking might be targeted for added intervention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Targeting norm-related beliefs about marijuana use in an adolescent population.

The integrative model of behavior prediction and priming theory were used to evaluate the effects of anti-marijuana advertisements in an experimental context. In 1 original study and 2 replications, 435 adolescents were randomly assigned to condition, and those in the experimental condition viewed 3 ads that challenged undesirable normative beliefs about marijuana use. The results showed that ad exposure had small but positive (anti-drug) effects on adolescents' considerations of the outcomes of using marijuana and their perceptions of the social normative climate surrounding marijuana use. Priming effects also were observed but generally ran counter to predictions. Implications of the findings for anti-drug campaigns are discussed. Potential explanations for the unexpected priming effects also are offered.

Adolescent↗