Ebony
22-03-05, 09:00 PM
Risk factors predict continued involvement with marijuana
21 Mar 2005
Researchers have identified three risk factors that could help identify those adolescents who are at high risk of progressing from experimental marijuana use to regular use.
"A better understanding of the risk factors that put adolescents at increased risk for experimentation with marijuana, progression to regular use, and failure to discontinue use can make important contributions to the evidence-based development of prevention and intervention programs," note Marianne van den Bree (Cardiff University, UK) and colleagues.
To establish these risk factors, the researchers interviewed 13,718 middle and high school students aged between 11 and 21 years in 1995 and again in 1996. At each session, the participants were divided into nonusers, experimental users (used 1–10 times), and regular users (more than 10 times).
Changes in marijuana involvement during the year were then assessed based on five stages: initiation of experimental use, initiation of regular use, progression to regular use, failure to discontinue experimental use, and failure to discontinue regular use.
By the second interview, 13% of nonusers had become involved with marijuana, more than half of adolescents who had initially experimented with marijuana had continued to use the drug either experimentally or regularly, and the majority of regular users remained involved with the drug.
Of 21 potential risk factors known to be associated with marijuana use, van den Bree et al identified three – own and peer involvement with substances, delinquency, and school problems – that were the strongest predictors of all stages.
Indeed, their combined presence greatly increased the risk of adolescents starting to use marijuana experimentally and regularly over the next year, with odds ratios of 20 and 87, respectively.
The researchers note that most of the remaining risk factors predicted at least some stages of marijuana involvement, but their influence tended to be age or gender specific. Reporting in the Archives of General Psychiatry, the team writes: "These risk factors can be used to identify adolescents who may require early and intensive prevention efforts and to address these factors in efforts to help them."
Source: Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005; 62: 311–319http://www.psychiatrysource.com/psychsource/images/external_link_icon.gif (http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/62/3/311)
www.psychiatrysource.com (http://www.psychiatrysource.com)
21 Mar 2005
Researchers have identified three risk factors that could help identify those adolescents who are at high risk of progressing from experimental marijuana use to regular use.
"A better understanding of the risk factors that put adolescents at increased risk for experimentation with marijuana, progression to regular use, and failure to discontinue use can make important contributions to the evidence-based development of prevention and intervention programs," note Marianne van den Bree (Cardiff University, UK) and colleagues.
To establish these risk factors, the researchers interviewed 13,718 middle and high school students aged between 11 and 21 years in 1995 and again in 1996. At each session, the participants were divided into nonusers, experimental users (used 1–10 times), and regular users (more than 10 times).
Changes in marijuana involvement during the year were then assessed based on five stages: initiation of experimental use, initiation of regular use, progression to regular use, failure to discontinue experimental use, and failure to discontinue regular use.
By the second interview, 13% of nonusers had become involved with marijuana, more than half of adolescents who had initially experimented with marijuana had continued to use the drug either experimentally or regularly, and the majority of regular users remained involved with the drug.
Of 21 potential risk factors known to be associated with marijuana use, van den Bree et al identified three – own and peer involvement with substances, delinquency, and school problems – that were the strongest predictors of all stages.
Indeed, their combined presence greatly increased the risk of adolescents starting to use marijuana experimentally and regularly over the next year, with odds ratios of 20 and 87, respectively.
The researchers note that most of the remaining risk factors predicted at least some stages of marijuana involvement, but their influence tended to be age or gender specific. Reporting in the Archives of General Psychiatry, the team writes: "These risk factors can be used to identify adolescents who may require early and intensive prevention efforts and to address these factors in efforts to help them."
Source: Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005; 62: 311–319http://www.psychiatrysource.com/psychsource/images/external_link_icon.gif (http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/62/3/311)
www.psychiatrysource.com (http://www.psychiatrysource.com)