Cannabis norm perceptions among Canadian university students

Loverock, Alexandra; Yakovenko, Igor; Wild, T. Cameron

doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106567

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Research at eight Further Education Colleges in the UK reported a perceived norm of frequency of substance use that was higher than the reported norm, and the majority of respondents did not actively approve of tobacco, cannabis or other drug use [68]. This reflects similar findings in the university system in Canada [69]. The social norms approach may be a viable method of developing effective methods of behaviour change in UK students.…”

Section: Knowledge About Attitudes and Motivation To Use Drugsmentioning

confidence: 55%

Illicit drug use in university students in the UK and Ireland: a PRISMA-guided scoping review

Boden

Day

2023

Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy

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Background Interest in the health and well-being of university students has increased in the UK and Ireland in the past two decades as their numbers have grown. Recent high-profile deaths of students after using illicit drugs have highlighted the importance of the topic for policy makers. This scoping review maps the state of the existing literature evaluating use of illicit drugs in university students in the UK and Ireland. It aims to highlight research gaps and inform policy. Method We conducted a systematic search of papers related to psychoactive drug use in university students in the UK and Ireland published before August 2021. The 18 extracted study characteristics included author(s); year of publication; journal; location of data collection; study design; delivery method (e.g., online survey, in-person, postal survey); number of participants; response rate; participant course of study, year of study, degree level (i.e., undergraduate, postgraduate), gender and age; time-period assessed (e.g., lifetime, current use, past 12 months); primary aim; primary outcome; ethical approval; and funding source. Results The PRISMA-guided search strategy identified 1583 papers for abstract review; of 110 papers retained for full-text review, 54 studies met criteria for inclusion for this paper. Primary outcomes were coded into five groups: prevalence and patterns of drug use; factors associated with drug use; attitudes and knowledge about, and motivation for, drug use; supply of drugs; consequences of drug use. The results show that there is no coherent body of research in this area. The prevalence of reported drug use has crept up and the range of substances reported has broadened over time, and attitudes to drugs on average have normalised. However, there are significant methodological limitations that limit the utility of these findings. There was little evidence of published work on prevention of, or intervention to reduce, drug-related harms. Conclusion The domains identified offer a framework for university administrators, researchers and policy makers to understand the potential response to drug use in university students in the UK and Ireland. Recommendations are made to fill the gaps in the research evidence base.

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Section: Knowledge About Attitudes and Motivation To Use Drugsmentioning

confidence: 55%

Illicit drug use in university students in the UK and Ireland: a PRISMA-guided scoping review

Boden

Day

2023

Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy

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“…Normative misperceptions regarding cannabis use have been noted in previous research, although primarily in college student samples. 1 , 8 - 14 The current study recruited a cannabis using, general population sample for an online intervention trial. Almost all participants in this study considerably overestimated the degree to which others their age and gender used cannabis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is some evidence of normative misperceptions in people who consume cannabis, although this research has primarily been conducted with college and university student samples. 1 , 8 - 14 It is important to verify these findings in non-student groups, as these samples do not tend to accurately represent the general population and thus findings may not be generalizable. 15 Furthermore, while PNF can be effective in reducing individual substance use and effect other health-behaviour change, limited research has investigated its effect on cannabis use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Normative Misperceptions About Cannabis Use in a Sample of Risky Cannabis Users

et al. 2023

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Introduction: This study examines normative misperceptions in a sample of participants recruited for a brief intervention trial targeting risky cannabis use. Methods: Participants who were concerned about their own risky cannabis use were recruited to help develop and evaluate intervention materials. At baseline, participants reported on their own cannabis use and provided estimates of how often others their gender and age used cannabis in the past 3 months. Comparisons were made between participants estimates of others cannabis use with reports of cannabis use obtained from a general population survey conducted during a similar time period. Results: Participants (N = 744, mean age = 35.8, 56.2% identified as female) largely reported daily or almost daily cannabis use (82.4%). Roughly half (55.3%) of participants estimated that others their age and gender used cannabis weekly or more often in the past 3 months, whereas the majority of people in the general population reported not using cannabis at all. Conclusions: Normative misperceptions about cannabis use were common in this sample of people with risky cannabis use. Limitations and possible future directions of this research are discussed, as well as the potential for targeting these misperceptions in interventions designed to motivate reductions in cannabis use. ClinicalTrials.org number: NCT04060602

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