The dynamics of alcohol and marijuana initiation: patterns and predictors of first use in adolescence

Abstract

A B S T R A C TObjectives. This study, guided by the social development model, examined the dynamic patterns and predictors of alcohol and marijuana use onset.Methods. Survival analysis and complementary log-log regression were used to model hazard rates and etiology of initiation with time-varying covariates. The sample was derived from a longitudinal study of 808 youth interviewed annually from 10 to 16 years of age and at 18 years of age.Results. Alcohol initiation rose steeply up to the age of 13 years and then increased more gradually; most participants had initiated by 13 years of age. Marijuana initiation showed a different pattern, with more participants initiating after the age of 13 years.Conclusions. This study showed that: (1) the risk of initiation spans the entire course of adolescent development; (2) young people exposed to others who use substances are at higher risk for early initiation; (3) proactive parents can help delay initiation; and (4) clear family standards and proactive family management are important in delaying alcohol and marijuana use, regardless of how closely bonded a child is to his or her mother. (Am J Public Health. 2000; 90:360-366) Rick Kosterman, PhD, J. David Hawkins, PhD, Jie Guo, PhD, Richard F. Catalano, PhD, and Robert D. Abbott, PhD The Dynamics of Alcohol and Marijuana Initiation: Patterns and Predictors of First Use in Adolescence Alcohol and marijuana are among the substances most commonly used by American adolescents, 1 and their use increases risks for a range of serious adolescent health and behavior problems.2-6 Studies indicate that alcohol and marijuana use often begin early. 4,[7][8][9][10] In the 1997 Monitoring the Future Study, a nationwide survey, more than 54% of respondents reported that they had consumed alcohol, and 23% reported that they had used marijuana, by the eighth grade.

Extent and patterns of drug use among persons with disabilities in Kenya

“…The finding is comparable to another study 7 that found 37.1% lifetime prevalence among the general public. The findings of high levels of drug use among PWDs support the notion by researchers 11,12 that PWDs are at a high risk of substance use due to myriad of factors including stigma, discrimination, health problems, alienation by society, and a lack of access to adequate and appropriate treatment services, among others. These findings also support those of another researcher 13 who found that PWDs report higher incidence rates of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug (ATOD) use than their peers.…”

Brief Family-Based Intervention for Substance Abusing Adolescents

“…Strong parental norms against teenage drinking and communication of parental disapproval of drinking have also been shown to reduce the risk of initiation in early adolescence 40 and have been linked to less peer influence to use alcohol, greater self-efficacy to refuse alcohol, and lower frequency of alcohol use behavior. 32 Similarly, national data demonstrate that adolescents who believe that their parents would strongly disapprove of them using substances are significantly less likely to use that substance than adolescents whose parents only somewhat disapproved.…”

Contextual risks linking parents’ adolescent marijuana use to offspring onset

“…Social influences such as those related to parenting, peer group, and neighborhood on use of any specific substance in adolescence often overlap with those for use of other substances and for the general category of problem behaviors (Dishion and Patterson, 2006; Hicks et al, 2004). Additionally, polysubstance use is common in adolescence (Leatherdale et al, 2009), and onset of one kind of substance use hastens onset of others (Kosterman et al, 2000). Thus, models of risk for marijuana use onset should accommodate the likelihood that some risks tend to be generalized rather than substance specific.…”