Peer Influence on Marijuana Use in Different Types of Friendships

The interrelation of ecological and psychosocial risk factors and adolescent marijuana use is examined in this three-sample longitudinal data analysis. Participants included (a) white children from the northeast of the USA, (b) African-American and Puerto Rican adolescents from New York City, and (c) adolescents living in Colombia, South America. Adolescents were interviewed in their homes. Independent measures were from the ecological, personality, peer, and family domains. Logistic regression analysis showed that the majority of ecological variables was related to adolescent marijuana use. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that the ecological domain was directly and indirectly related to adolescent marijuana use (via the family, peer, and personality domains). Intervention programs should focus on adolescents' unique ecological settings while targeting universal risk factors (e.g., low ego integration, low parental identification) which predict adolescents' marijuana use. Similarities among the ecological predictors of adolescents' marijuana use in three samples, across time and place, allow a more universal approach to the prevention of substance use.

BackgroundAdolescence has been identified as a critical risk period for substance use initiation, such as marijuana. Although several factors have been cited for adolescent marijuana use, those that influence initiation, especially in an African setting where illicit marijuana activities are rife, have not been contextually explored.AimWe ascertained the factors that influence adolescent marijuana use initiation in two marijuana-growing communities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, based on the constructs of the socio-ecological model.SettingThe study was conducted in two selected illicit marijuana growing communities in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.MethodsFocus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among 37 participants, grouped into four focus groups. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select the communities and participants, respectively. An FGD guide was used to collect the data. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis approach and presented under various themes.ResultsTwelve influences of adolescent marijuana use initiation, grouped under three main levels of socio-ecological influence, personal characteristics (curiosity, shyness and fulfilment of personal need), micro-level influences (peer pressure, negative school climate, presence of marijuana in households and parental or sibling marijuana use) and macro-level influences (child labour, poverty, presence of marijuana in communities, presence of negative adult role models and breakdown in communal restrictions against marijuana use), were found.ConclusionHealth promotion programmes, targeting socio-ecological motives of adolescent marijuana use initiation in the two communities, should be intensified to break the cycle of adolescent marijuana use. Also, alternative livelihood schemes should be implemented in the affected communities to break the cycle of illegal marijuana cultivation that promotes adolescent marijuana use.

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to examine (1) whether family and peer marijuana use are independently related to adolescent marijuana use in Chile, (2) whether family and peer marijuana use are associated with adolescent marijuana dependence in adolescents using marijuana, and (3) whether the adolescent’s age moderates the association between family or peer use and adolescent marijuana use and/or dependence.MethodThis study used data from the National Survey on Drug Use in the General Population in Chile (a cross-sectional observational study), which was conducted in 2008 and 2010 in 4413 adolescents aged 12–19. Adolescents answered questions about their past-year marijuana use and dependence (ICD-10 criteria) and the marijuana use of their family and peers. Logistic regressions were performed while controlling for confounders.ResultsAdolescents who had a family member who used marijuana were five times more likely to use the drug. Adolescents with a close friend who used marijuana were eight times more likely to use marijuana. When adolescents were using marijuana, they were three times more likely to be dependent if they had a family member who used the drug. However, no significant relationship was found between peer use and dependence. No statistically significant interactions were found between family or peer use and age.ConclusionFamily and peer marijuana use was independently associated with adolescent’s past-year marijuana use; however, only family marijuana use was statistically associated with adolescent’s marijuana dependence.

A main concern regarding adolescent marijuana use is its long-term negative health effects, such as alterations to brain structure and function, which can lead to deficits in working memory (e.g., cognitive failures). This raises concerns for the development of proper executive functioning in marijuana-using adolescents. As such, understanding factors leading to adolescent marijuana use, such as personality, can allow for an assessment of predispositions that could pose a threat to their cognitive health. This study examined whether adolescent marijuana use mediates the effect of sensation-seeking on cognitive failures. An adolescent sample (N=165; 48.8% Female, 88.6% White, 84.9% Hispanic/Latinx, Mage=14.9) from a larger multi-wave study was assessed. Results show that high sensation-seeking tendencies predicted greater marijuana use (effect=0.08, p=0.02), and that marijuana use predicted greater false triggering (effect=0.96, p=0.01). Furthermore, a significant indirect effect between sensation-seeking and false triggering through days of marijuana use (effect=0.08, CI [0.01, 0.20]) was found. Findings suggest that marijuana use can impact executive functioning within the prefrontal cortex via alterations to myelination due to false signaling on oligodendrocytes. Additionally, a mature striatum coupled with an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex during adolescence may predispose sensation-seeking adolescents to try marijuana without considering the risk of memory impairments.

Using data from a probability sample of 4,987 adolescents, we examine the degree to which closeness to mother, closeness to father, parental support, and parental monitoring buffer the relationship between peer drug use and adolescent marijuana use. The relationship between peer drug use and adolescent marijuana use was attenuated by both closeness to father and the perception that parents would catch them for major rule violations. These findings confirm the value of conceptualizing certain family characteristics as separate variables and verify that authoritative parenting may help insulate adolescents from peer pressure to use drugs.

Recent rapid decrease in adolescents’ perception that marijuana is harmful, but no concurrent increase in use

Mexican-origin families often face economic hardship due to systemic oppression, increasing the likelihood of adolescent marijuana use. While the family stress model provides insight into the mechanism of the association between family economic hardship and adolescent marijuana use, resilience factors are relatively unknown. The present study uses a three-wave longitudinal data set of Mexican immigrant families in the United States (Wave 1-adolescents: Mage = 12.29, SD = 0.93; mothers: Mage = 38.57, SD = 5.71) to investigate the mechanism underlying the association between family income and adolescents' likelihood of marijuana use, guided by the family stress model. The protective role of adolescent executive function (shifting task performance and working memory), which has been widely linked to adolescent marijuana use in prior research, was tested as a key resilience factor supporting behavioral regulation and adaptive coping in negative family environments. The results revealed the long-term detrimental influence of early adolescents' family income on the likelihood of using marijuana in late adolescence through family economic pressure, maternal internalizing symptoms, maternal hostility toward partner, and maternal hostility toward adolescent. The downstream link is buffered by adolescents' longer reaction times in shifting tasks and longer digit span by attenuating the influence of maternal hostility toward adolescent on the likelihood of adolescent marijuana use. Revealing the mechanism and identifying resilience factors for the association between family economic hardship and adolescent's marijuana use in Mexican-origin families shed light on the targets of interventions to help adolescents thrive and overcome economic disadvantage in Mexican-origin communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of parental factors on annual (past year) marijuana use in African American youth within the Greater Cincinnati area. The following research questions were examined for this study: (1) Do family structure, parental education and parental job status impact African American adolescent marijuana use? (2) Does impact of these variables differ based on sex and grade? Participants were African American students in 7th through 12th grade (n = 7488) in schools within the Greater Cincinnati area. Logistic regression analyses revealed that annual marijuana use differed based on family structure, parental education, and parental job status. More specifically, annual marijuana use was lowest among students who lived with both of their biological parents, had parents who had some college experience and had parents who were employed. Findings should be considered by health educators and prevention specialists when developing programs and efforts to prevent youth marijuana use.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs (substance use) and psychiatric disorder in early adolescence and substance use in late adolescence. Adolescents included in the study were identified by means of a household sampling frame and participated in the Ontario Child Health Study in 1983 and the follow-up in 1987. There were 726 12-16-year-olds (369 boys and 357 girls) in 1983 who had complete information in 1987. Data on substance use were collected from adolescents by using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Data on psychiatric disorder were collected in 1983 from both adolescents and their parents by using problem checklists to assess conduct disorder, attention deficit disorder, and emotional disorder. Prior substance use in 1983 was associated strongly with subsequent use in 1987. Among the psychiatric disorders assessed in 1983, only conduct disorder made an independent contribution to predicting use of marijuana (relative odds = 3.46) and other hard drugs (relative odds = 6.82) in 1987, after prior use of these substances and coexisting attention deficit and emotional disorders were controlled. Corresponding estimates of attributable risk (the expected contribution of exposure to conduct disorder to the development of substance use) were 5.7% and 11.1%, respectively. Although a statistically significant relationship existed between conduct disorder in early adolescence and use of marijuana and hard drugs in late adolescence, the potential is limited for preventing substance use in the general population by treating conduct disorder early on.

Gone with the weed: incidents of adolescent marijuana use in the United States, 1976–2021

The social and political climate regarding marijuana use has been changing in the US over the past decade. Research suggests that many adolescents report relatively easy access to marijuana and perceptions that recreational use involves minimal harm despite a growing body of research implicating the deleterious effects of use on cognitive and psychological development. Not surprisingly, prevalence rates have been rising in recent years, making it important to identify risk and protective factors associated with adolescent marijuana use. We tested a 3-way interaction model designed to (a) examine the relationship between behavioral impulsivity and marijuana use in adolescents, and (b) evaluate the roles of perceived access and parental monitoring as moderators of this relationship. High school students (N=498, M age =15.7, 53% female, 77% White) completed an anonymous self-report assessment examining substance use, perceived access, and psychosocial factors related to substance use (i.e., behavioral impulsivity and parental monitoring). Results indicated that higher levels of impulsivity, greater access, and reduced parental monitoring were related to marijuana use. Significant moderating effects were found for perceived access and parental monitoring, such that use was greater for adolescents who perceived that marijuana was easier to acquire and for those with lower levels of parental monitoring. Among individuals with greater levels of impulsivity, parental monitoring reduced the impact of perceived access. Overall, results highlight risk and protective factors related to adolescent marijuana use and indicate that parental monitoring can be an effective means for reducing consumption.

Examination of gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamate-glutamine levels in association with impulsive behavior in adolescent marijuana users

Children's risk for marijuana use may be linked to their parents' history of childhood adversity, yet little is known about the mechanisms underlying this link. This study examined whether maternal parenting behavior and mental health serve as mechanisms linking maternal childhood adversity to their children's marijuana use at age 17 years, by gender. Data were from the Young Women and Child Development Study (59% male), a longitudinal panel study, which began in 1988 and followed mother-child dyads for 17 years (n = 240). Participants were recruited from health and social services agencies located in a metropolitan region of Washington State. Hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modeling in Mplus. Multiple-group analysis was conducted to evaluate potential gender differences. Results showed that maternal childhood adversity was associated with their mental health outcomes (β = .32, p < .001), which in turn was predictive of mothers' harsh parenting (β = .27, p < .01). Maternal harsh parenting behavior was then associated with their children's marijuana use at age 17 years (β = .34, p < .001). Multiple group analyses revealed that the path from harsh parenting to adolescent marijuana use differed across genders being only significant for boys (β = .42, p < .001). The intergenerational impact of childhood adversity highlights the need for interventions that target both parents and children. This would support teen mothers with a history of childhood adversity to acquire skills and knowledge to help mitigate its impact on their parenting behaviors and offset risks for their children.

Adolescent psychopathology is commonly connected to marijuana use. How changes in these adolescent antecedents and in adolescent marijuana use are connected to patterns of marijuana use in the 20s is little understood. Another issue not clearly understood is psychopathology in the 30s as predicted by marijuana use in the 20s. This study sought to examine these two issues and the associations with marijuana disorder diagnoses using a longitudinal data set of 205 men with essentially annual reports. Individual psychopathology and family characteristics from the men's adolescence were used to predict their patterns of marijuana use across their 20s, and aspects of the men's psychopathology in their mid-30s were predicted from these patterns. Three patterns of marijuana use in the 20s were identified using growth mixture modeling and were associated with diagnoses of marijuana disorders at age 26 years. Parental marijuana use predicted chronic use for the men in adulthood. Patterns of marijuana use in the 20s predicted antisocial behavior and deviant peer association at age 36 years (controlling for adolescent levels of the outcomes by residualization). These findings indicate that differential patterns of marijuana use in early adulthood are associated with psychopathology toward midlife.

“I couldn't say, I'm not a girl” – Adolescents talk about gender and marijuana use