Marijuana use among American Indian adolescents: a growth curve analysis from ages 14 through 20 years.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the developmental course of marijuana use among a group of American Indian adolescents, aged 14 through 20 years. METHOD: A group of 1,766 American Indian adolescents from 3 culture groups provided repeated measures of 30-day marijuana use twice a year across a 3-year period. Linking 5 age cohorts, hierarchical linear modeling was used to model a curvilinear trajectory of marijuana use. Gender and community differences were examined as well. RESULTS: Support was found for a "maturational" model of marijuana use across time: Use increased in middle adolescence, peaked in later adolescence, and began to decrease in early adulthood. Both gender and community differences in trajectories were significant as well. CONCLUSIONS: Marijuana use among American Indian adolescents follows a clear developmental trajectory. Growth curve analysis can provide an additional tool for studying the effects of interventions that may not be apparent in a traditional evaluation design.