Promotive Factors to Prevent Marijuana Use and Marijuana Use Disorders in US Adolescents

Background/Purpose: Marijuana use often begins in adolescence and is associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes including increased depression and engagement in risk behaviors. Resilience factors can potentially mitigate adolescent use of drugs (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005). Previous research has focused on promotive factors associated with past-year or lifetime marijuana (e.g., Ford & Hill, 2012; Nguyen & Zuckerman, 2016). These studies found religiosity and parent relationships can be protective against marijuana use. Additional research is needed to examine the relationship of protective factors and marijuana use disorders. This study examined the relationship between resiliency factors (religiosity, parental engagement, and school connectedness) and past year marijuana use and marijuana use disorders in a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Through interactions, we also evaluated whether gender moderates religiosity, parental engagement, and school connectedness.

Methods: Secondary analysis of the 2012-2014 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health was conducted. The sample (N=45,512) included youth between the ages of 12 and 17 (Mean=14.59) and was 56.3% white, 13.4% African American, 21.5% Hispanic, 4.9% Asian and 3.9% other races. The sample was 49% female. Logistic regression was used to examine demographics (e.g., gender, race) and protective factors (religiosity, parent engagement, and school connectedness) associated with marijuana use (past year) and marijuana use disorders. Sampling weights were used to account for missing data and the complex multistage sampling design.

Results: Self-reported rates of adolescent marijuana use in the past year were 13.7% and 2.9% met criteria (DSM-IV) for a current (past month) marijuana use disorder. Results of the logistic regression indicate that older youth (OR=1.73), African-Americans (OR=1.29), youth grouped into the “other race” category (OR=1.34) had higher odds of marijuana use.  Asian race (OR=.41), female gender (OR=.88), and higher levels of religiosity (OR=.62), parent engagement (OR=.68) and school connectedness (OR=.62) were associated with lower odds of marijuana use. Similar patterns were found for marijuana use disorders. Older youth (OR= 1.56) had greater odds of a marijuana use disorder. Asian race (OR=.16), female gender (OR=.79) and higher levels of religiosity (OR=.75), parent engagement (OR=.61) and school connectedness (OR=.55) had lower odds of a marijuana use disorder. Although there were gender differences in rates of marijuana use and disorders, interactions between resiliency factors and gender were not significant (p>.001).

Conclusion/Implications: Findings are consistent with resiliency theory (Zimmerman, 2013) and studies of marijuana use that suggest religiosity, parent engagement and school connectedness are protective factors against marijuana use. These resilience factors were negatively associated with both marijuana use and marijuana use disorders in this nationally-representative sample of adolescents. Notably, the interactions between gender and resiliency factors were not significant suggesting these resiliency factors are important for both male and female youth. Future research is needed to examine other resiliency factors including cultural perceptions within communities and in conditions of poverty and oppression to better understand marijuana use in African American and “other” race adolescents’. Greater understanding of these factors is needed, particularly as access to marijuana expands with more liberalized state policies.