Marijuana use/cessation expectancies and marijuana use in college students

BACKGROUND: Research suggests that marijuana expectancies are associated with problematic marijuana use; however, these marijuana-related cognitions remain relatively understudied. OBJECTIVE: This study examined marijuana-related decision-making among college students by exploring the relationships among marijuana expectancies and marijuana use variables. METHOD: College students (N = 357) endorsing lifetime marijuana use completed an online survey on marijuana use expectancies, marijuana cessation expectancies, marijuana use, and future marijuana use intentions. A simple regression framework was used to test the effect of each type of expectancies on marijuana outcome; a hierarchical regression framework tested the unique predictive validity when both types were entered into the same model. RESULTS: Both marijuana use expectancies and marijuana cessation expectancies independently predicted a number of marijuana use variables. Additionally, marijuana use expectancies and marijuana cessation expectancies contributed significant unique variance to the prediction of marijuana use. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to consider both use expectancies and cessation expectancies, as these two domains of marijuana-related cognitions appear to act independently, rather than as opposite ends of the same construct. Longitudinal studies are needed to further examine how these factors interact to influence marijuana use and problems over time

The Developmental Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence and Harmful Drinking in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Peers and Parents

Depressive symptoms have been linked to the development of harmful drinking in adolescence but it remains unclear to what extent this effect continues into emerging adulthood. Deviant peers represent a risk factor while parental monitoring is a protective factor for harmful drinking. The study explored the relationship between depressive symptoms and harmful drinking between early adolescence and emerging adulthood. We also assessed to what extent this relationship is mediated by the influence of deviant peers and whether parental monitoring weakens this process. The sample consisted of 2964 adolescents (64 % females) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children study assessed between the ages of 14 and 19. Using structural equation modelling, we found that affiliation with deviant peers mediated the association between depressive symptoms and harmful drinking after adjustment for socio-demographic variables, parental drinking and depression, teenager's sex, conduct problems as well as drinking and depressive symptoms in early adolescence. We also found that parental control and solicitation reduced the influence of deviant peers on harmful drinking. The results indicate that prevention programs should offer adolescents training for peer resistance training and monitoring skills training for parents may have a long-term effect at weakening peer influences on harmful drinking