Predicting Self-Initiated Marijuana Use Cessation among Youth at Continuation High Schools (original) (raw)
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Five-year prospective prediction of marijuana use cessation of youth at continuation high schools
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Substance Use & Misuse, 2002
The present study investigated whether several behavioral and psychosocial factors measured during early adolescence predicted regular marijuana use 6 years later in a sample of high school students. As part of a school-based survey, 7th-grade students (N ¼ 1132) reported levels of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use, and were assessed on several domains of psychosocial functioning potentially relevant in the etiology of marijuana use. When students were followed-up in the 12thgrade, 14% smoked marijuana on a regular basis (once or more per month). Findings indicated that early cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and alcohol intoxication predicted later regular marijuana use. For boys, early marijuana use increased the odds for later regular marijuana use. Cigarette 225 SUBSTANCE USE & MISUSE, 37(2), 225-238 (2002) smoking by friends and siblings during early adolescence also increased the likelihood of later monthly marijuana use. The findings suggest that early prevention programs for adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drug use may have important preventive effects in terms of potentially more serious levels of marijuana involvement later in adolescence and early adulthood.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2009
We examined the relationships among targeted constructs of social influences and competence enhancement prevention curricula and cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use outcomes in a diverse sample of high school students. We tested the causal relationships of normative beliefs, perceptions of harm, attitudes toward use of these substances and refusal, communication, and decision-making skills predicting the self-reported use of each substance. In addition, we modeled the meditation of these constructs through the intentions to use each substance and tested the moderating effects of the skills variables on the relationships between intentions to use and self-reported use of each of these substances.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2004
This study uses an integrative model of behavioral prediction as an account of adolescents’ intention to use marijuana regularly. Adolescents’ risk for using marijuana regularly is examined to test the theoretical assumption that distal variables affect intention indirectly. Risk affects intention indirectly if low-risk and high-risk adolescents differ on the strength with which beliefs about marijuana are held, or if they differ on the relative importance of predictors of intention. A model test confirmed that the effect of risk on intention is primarily indirect. Adolescents at low and high risk particularly differed in beliefs concerning social costs and costs to self-esteem. Not surprisingly, at-risk adolescents took a far more positive stand toward using marijuana regularly than did low-risk adolescents. On a practical level, the integrative model proved to be an effective tool for predicting intention to use marijuana, identifying key variables for interventions, and discriminating between target populations in terms of determinants of marijuana use.
Non-use and cessation of cannabis use: Neglected foci of drug education
Addictive Behaviors, 1984
Analysis of responses from a large sample of students (grades 7-13) indicated that a large proportion of students reported never having tried cannabis, and the majority of those who had tried the drug reported no longer using it. Multivariate analyses, employing Multiple Classification Analysis procedures, identified those variables most strongly associated with initially trying cannabis and with discontinuing its use. These results indicated that some varizl-,:es had a similar relationship to these two aspects of cannabis use, but other variables were related exclusively either to trying cannabis or to continuing its use. Implications for education and other preventive interventions are highlighted.
Expectancy change and adolescents' intentions to use marijuana
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2008
Drug prevention campaigns commonly seek to change outcome expectancies associated with substance use, but the effects of violating such expectancies are rarely considered. This study details an application of the expectancy violation framework in a real world context by investigating whether changes in marijuana expectations are associated with subsequent future marijuana intentions. A cohort of adolescents (N = 1,344; age range = 12-18 years) from the National Survey of Parents and Youth was analyzed via secondary analysis. Nonusers at baseline were assessed 1 year later. Changes in expectancies were significantly associated with changes in intentions (p < .001). Moreover, in most cases, changes in expectancies and intentions had the strongest relationship among those who became users. The final model accounted for 31% of the variance (p < .001). Consistent with laboratory studies, changes in marijuana expectancies were predictive of changes in marijuana intentions. These results counsel caution when describing negative outcomes of marijuana initiation. If adolescents conclude that the harms of marijuana use are not as grave as they had been led to expect, intentions to use might intensify. Keywords adolescence; marijuana use; expectancy violations; outcome expectancies; drug prevention Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug among adolescents (Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2007). It also is the most common substance reported in adolescents' emergency department admissions (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2005b). Of 2.1 million individuals who used marijuana for the first time, nearly 60% of them were under the age of 18 (SAMHSA, 2005a). Far from an innocuous indiscretion of the young, heavy marijuana use can impair normal adolescent development (Hall & Solowij, 1998), reduce learning, and decrease mental flexibility (Lundqvist, 2005). Other outcomes include increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases (Boyer, Tschann, & Shafer, 1999), problems at school (Lynskey & Hall, 2000), increased risk of motor vehicle accidents (Smiley, 1999), and lung and bronchial cancers (Sidney, Quesenberry, Friedman, & Tekawa, 1997). As a rule, marijuana prevention campaigns, even those involving massive expenditures, have enjoyed only moderate success (Atkin, 2002; Hornik, 2002). An evaluation of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (Orwin et al., 2006) revealed that greater Campaign exposure was associated with weaker anti-drug norms and higher rates of marijuana initiation. There are many possible reasons for these effects (Hornik, 2006), including the possibility that the typical campaign often is designed to develop expectancies regarding marijuana use
Contributions of social influences and expectations of use to cannabis use in high-school students
Addictive Behaviors, 2006
The aim of the study was to evaluate the relative contributions of peers cannabis use or non-use, parental approval of such use, adolescents' own beliefs about use, to the prediction of cannabis use. The participants were 559 high-school students who completed questionnaires assessing the frequency of cannabis use, the number of peers using cannabis, the number of peers opposed to cannabis use, parental attitude toward cannabis use, and participants' expectations towards use. The number of peers using cannabis and participants' positive expectations of cannabis use were risk factors for use whereas the number of peers opposed to cannabis use and the negative expectations of use were protective factors. Parental attitudes towards use were not a significant independent predictor of use.
Psychosocial correlates of adolescent marijuana use: Variations by status of marijuana use
Addictive Behaviors, 2011
Introduction-This study examined the associations between psychosocial factors and status of marijuana use: former experimentation, current occasional, and current frequent use. Methods-Data were collected from a nationally-representative sample of U.S. tenth-graders who participated in the 2005/6 Health Behavior in School-aged Children Study (n=1,465). Multinomial regressions, run separately by gender, examined the association of risk and protective factors from the individual (life satisfaction; academic achievement; aggression, bullying) and contextual (mothers and fathers' knowledge of adolescents' activities, school climate) domains with status of marijuana use (former experimentation, current occasional use, current frequent use). Results-Former experimental and current marijuana use were negatively associated with protective factors such as academic achievement, mothers' and fathers' knowledge of adolescents' activities, and life satisfaction, but not with positive school climate. Former experimental and current marijuana use were positively associated with aggression and bullying perpetration. Most associations varied by gender and status of marijuana use. In adjusted analyses, aggression emerged as the sole risk factor and fathers' knowledge as the sole protective factor that were positively associated with most statuses of marijuana use, across gender. Conclusion-Fathers may be particularly important in preventing adolescent marijuana use, and interventions promoting fathers' knowledge of adolescents' activities are warranted.