Risk Factors for Adolescent Marijuana Use Across Cultures and Across Time

Abstract

An integrated analysis of the data from 3 different studies was conducted to examine the early psychosocial predictors of later marijuana use among adolescents. Longitudinal analysis of interview data was performed. The data used in the analysis were derived from (a) a sample of 739 predominantly White adolescents representative of the northeastern United States, (b) a sample of 1,190 minority adolescents from the East Harlem section of New York City, and (c) a sample of 1,374 Colombian adolescents from two cities in Colombia, South America. In 2 of the samples, participants were interviewed in their homes, and in the 3rd study, participants were assessed in school. The predictors included a number of variables from (a) the personality domain, reflecting the adolescents' conventionality and intrapsychic functioning; (b) the family domain, representing the parent-child mutual attachment relationship and parental substance use; (c) the peer domain, reflecting the peer group's delinquency and substance use; and (d) the adolescents' own use of legal drugs. The dependent variable was adolescent marijuana use. The results of the analysis demonstrated remarkable consistency in the risk and protective factors for later marijuana use across the 3 samples, attesting to the robust nature of these predictors and their generalizability across gender, time, location, and ethnic/cultural background. These findings have important implications for designing intervention programs. Programs aimed at preventing adolescent marijuana use can be designed to incorporate universal features and still incorporate specific components that address the unique needs of adolescents from different groups.

Role of cultural interaction in tianeptine abuse and different application methods

“…Yapılan araştırmaların çoğu arkadaş etkisinin, madde bağımlılığının oluşmasına ve sürmesine yol açan önemli bir çevresel risk faktörü olduğunu göstermiştir (11)(12)(13)(14). Çalışmamızda ifade ettiğimiz gibi farklı kültürlerden olan arkadaşlıklar, farklı madde kullanımı yön-temlerini de beraberinde getirmekte ve oluşabilecek komplikasyon yelpazesini genişletmektedir.…”

Predictors of drug use among South African adolescents

“…As in the U.S., the most powerful personal predictors of drug use are the indicators of unconventionality. Such personal attributes suggest a vulnerability to drug use and have emerged in studies in the United States [ 56 ].…”

Historical Change in the Link between Adolescent Deviance Proneness and Marijuana Use, 1979–2004

“…Further, unlike prior historical studies, this study's model of deviance proneness combined measures of conduct problems (i.e. criminal behavior and truancy) as well as measures of personality factors (i.e., low conventionality and sensation seeking) that have been shown to be prospectively related to adult marijuana use (Brook, Brook, Arencibia-Mireles, Richter, & Whiteman, 2001;Brook, Whiteman, Finch, & Cohen, 2000;Horvath, Milich, Lynam, Leukefeld, & Clayton, 2004;White, Labouvie, & Bates, 1994) and to underlie the co-occurrence of adolescent antisocial behavior disorders and substance use disorders in recent genetic-factor analytic studies (Krueger et al, 2002). Adolescents' commitment to conventional norms and behaviors is believed to serve as an important source of restraint from participating in aggressive and/or antisocial behaviors (Krueger et al, 2002).…”