Age, period and cohort effects in frequent cannabis use among US students: 1991–2018

Background and AimsAs the legal status of cannabis changes across the United States and modes of administration expand, it is important to examine the potential impact on adolescent cannabis use. This study aimed to assess changes in prevalence of frequent cannabis use in adolescents in the United States and how far this varies by age and cohort.DesignAnalysis of Monitoring the Future, a nationally representative annual survey of 8th‐, 10th‐ and 12th‐grade students in the United States conducted from 1991 to 2018.SettingIn‐school surveys completed by US adolescents.ParticipantsA total of 1 236 159 8th‐, 10th‐ and 12th‐graders; 51.5% female, 59.6% non‐Hispanic white, 12.3% non‐Hispanic black, 13.4% Hispanic and 14.7% other race/ethnicity.MeasurementsFrequent cannabis use (FCU), defined as six or more occasions in the past 30 days, stratified by sex, race/ethnicity and parental education.FindingsFCU among US adolescents increased over the study period; the peak in 2010–18 was 11.4% among 18‐year‐old students. This increase was best explained by both period and cohort effects. Compared with respondents in 2005, adolescents surveyed in 2018 had period effects in FCU that were 1.6 times greater. Adolescents in younger birth cohorts (those born > 1988) had a lower increase in FCU than those born prior to 1988. Results were consistent across sex, parent education and race/ethnicity, with period effects indicating increasing FCU after 2005 and cohort effects indicating a lower magnitude of increase in more recent birth cohorts. Age and parental education disparities in FCU have increased over time, whereas race/ethnicity differences have converged over time; black students were 0.67 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.64–0.70] times as likely to use cannabis frequently as white students from 1991 to 2000, and 1.03 (95% CI = 0.98–1.09) times as likely from 2011 to 2018 (P‐value for time interaction < 0.001).ConclusionsThe prevalence of frequent cannabis use (FCU) increased from 1991 to 2018 among older adolescents in the United States. Racial/ethnic differences in FCU converged, whereas parental education differences have diverged.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151314/1/add14665_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151314/2/add14665.pd

Residential setting and parent-adolescent relationships during the college years

The relationship of residential setting (living with parents vs. living away from home while attending college) and gender with late adolescents' perceptions of their relationships with parents was examined. Four hundred four undergraduates students (mean age=20 years, 4 months) from two midwestern universities completed surveys. Two hundred four subjects lived with their parents and commuted to school, and 200 lived away at college. Controlling for student's age, parents' education, and financial and family considerations as factors in the choice of a college, living away was associated with greater independence, support, and mutual respect between parents and adolescents. In contrast, students who lived at home felt parents underestimated their maturity, and reported more conflict and avoidance in their relationships with parents. Regardless of residential setting, women reported more mutuality and support in their relationships with parents than men. The results suggest the importance of considering contextual issues during the transition to adulthood .Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45280/1/10964_2005_Article_BF01536651.pd

How Academic Achievement, Attitudes, and Behaviors Relate to the Course of Substance Use During Adolescence: A 6-Year, Multiwave National Longitudinal Study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75027/1/1532-7795.1303005.pd

The social norms of birth cohorts and adolescent marijuana use in the United States, 1976–2007

Aims  Studies of the relationship between social norms and marijuana use have generally focused on individual attitudes, leaving the influence of larger societal‐level attitudes unknown. The present study investigated societal‐level disapproval of marijuana use defined by birth cohort or by time‐period. Design  Combined analysis of nationally representative annual surveys of secondary school students in the United States conducted from 1976 to 2007 as part of the Monitoring the Future study. Setting  In‐school surveys completed by adolescents in the United States. Participants  A total of 986 003 adolescents in grades 8, 10 and 12. Measurements  Main predictors included the percentage of students who disapproved of marijuana in each birth cohort and time‐period. Multi‐level models with individuals clustered in time‐periods of observation and birth cohorts were modeled, with past‐year marijuana use as the outcome. Findings  Results indicated a significant and strong effect of birth cohort disapproval of marijuana use in predicting individual risk of marijuana use, after controlling for individual‐level disapproval, perceived norms towards marijuana and other characteristics. Compared to birth cohorts in which most (87–90.9%) adolescents disapproved of marijuana use, odds of marijuana use were 3.53 times higher in cohorts where fewer than half (42–46.9%) disapproved (99% confidence interval: 2.75, 4.53). Conclusions  Individuals in birth cohorts that are more disapproving of marijuana use are less likely to use, independent of their personal attitudes towards marijuana use. Social norms and attitudes regarding marijuana use cluster in birth cohorts, and this clustering has a direct effect on marijuana use even after controlling for individual attitudes and perceptions of norms.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86928/1/j.1360-0443.2011.03485.x.pd

EXPLAINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYMENT AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY*

Most criminological theories predict an inverse relationship between employment and crime, but teenagers' involvement in paid work during the school year is positively correlated with delinquency and substance use. Whether the work-delinquency association is causal or spurious has long been debated. This study estimates the effect of paid work on juvenile delinquency using longitudinal data from the national Monitoring the Future project. We address issues of spuriousness by using a two-level hierarchical model to estimate the relationships of within-individual changes in juvenile delinquency and substance use to those in paid work and other explanatory variables. We also disentangle effects of actual employment from preferences for employment to provide insight about the likely role of time-varying selection factors tied to employment, delinquency, school engagement, and leisure activities. Whereas causal effects of employment would produce differences based on whether and how many hours respondents worked, we found significantly higher rates of crime and substance use among non-employed youth who preferred intensive versus moderate work. Our findings suggest the relationship between high-intensity work and delinquency results from preexisting factors that lead youth to desire varying levels of employment

Effects of School-Level Norms on Student Substance Use

This study examines the relationship between school norms of substance use disapproval (disapproval by the student body) and students' use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Data came from nationally representative samples of 8th ( N = 16,051), 10th ( N = 13,251), and 12th ( N = 8,797) grade students, attending 150, 140, and 142 schools, respectively. These students participated in the Monitoring the Future Project in 1999. Measures of school norms of disapproval of substance use were obtained by aggregating students' personal disapproval of daily cigarette use, heavy drinking, and marijuana use within each school. Analysis using logistic nonlinear hierarchical models indicated that in general, school-level disapproval lowered the probability of students' use of these substances, controlling for their own disapproval and for student and school demographic characteristics. The beneficial effect of school-level disapproval of cigarette and marijuana use on 8th-grade students' probability of daily cigarette use and marijuana use was significantly higher than it was for the 12th-grade students. The effect of school-level disapproval of heavy drinking on the probability of students' drinking was not significantly different across the three grades. Further, a school environment of disapproval was also found to create a protective environment for those students in the 8th and 10th grades who were themselves not disapproving of daily cigarette use. These results argue for prevention programs that include creation of an overarching environment of disapproval of substance use in schools.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45500/1/11121_2004_Article_373225.pd

Understanding the Links Among School Misbehavior, Academic Achievement, and Cigarette Use: A National Panel Study of Adolescents

Relations among academic achievement, school bonding, school misbehavior, and cigarette use from 8th to 12th grade were examined in two national panel samples of youth ( n = 3056). A series of competing conceptual models developed a priori was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings suggest that during middle adolescence the predominant direction of influence is from school experiences to cigarette use. School misbehavior and low academic achievement contribute to increased cigarette use over time both directly and indirectly. Two-group SEM analyses involving two cohorts—gender and ethnicity—revealed that our findings are robust. In addition, comparisons between high school dropouts and nondropouts and between eighth-grade cigarette use initiators and nonusers revealed few differences in direction or magnitude of effects. Results suggest that prevention programs that attempt to reduce school misbehavior and academic failure, as well as to help students who misbehave and have difficulty in school constructively avoid negative school- and health-related outcomes, are likely to be effective in reducing adolescent cigarette use.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45498/1/11121_2004_Article_223014.pd

The Monitoring the Future Project After Four Decades: Design and Procedures

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/170919/1/mtf-occ82.pdfSEL

Are Risk and Protective Factors for Substance Use Consistent Across Historical Time?: National Data From the High School Classes of 1976 Through 1997

Researchers have seldom examined whether risk and protective factors are consistently linked to substance use across historical time. Using nationally representative data collected from 22 consecutive cohorts of high school seniors (approximate N = 188,000) from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) project, we investigated whether correlates of substance use changed across historical time. We found a high degree of consistency across historical time in predictors of past month cigarette use, past month alcohol use, past year marijuana use, and past year cocaine use. Some predictors such as religiosity, political beliefs, truancy, and frequent evenings out were consistently linked to substance use. The consistency of other predictors such as region, parental education, and college plans was contingent in part upon historical time period, the particular substance, and its level of use.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45499/1/11121_2004_Article_294343.pd

Monitoring the Future Panel Study annual report: National data on substance use among adults ages 19 to 60, 1976-2021.

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/175555/1/mtfpanelreport2022.pdfSEL