NCJ Number
201716
Journal
Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2003 Pages: 143-152
Editor(s)
John B. Saunders
Date Published
June 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study investigated relationships between adolescent cannabis use and indices of parent-child attachment, family functioning, and parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency in a sample of high school students in Victoria, Australia.
Abstract
Cannabis use typically commences during adolescence with the heaviest use in late adolescence and young adulthood. Studies indicate a range of factors associated with licit and illicit drug use, among them are parent drug use, social norms favorable to drug use, availability of drugs, and attachment to drug-using populations. Previous studies of the role of family life in adolescent substance use have typically focused on family cohesion, family structure, parent-child communication, parent-child attachment, and parent attitudes to drug use. The purpose of this study was to examine risk relationships between adolescent cannabis use and (a) the quality of the parent-child relationship, (b) the nature of parent attitudes to drug use and delinquency, and (c) the degree of family cohesion and functioning. Data were obtained from the early (year 7), mid (year 9), and late (year 11) secondary school students recruited to participate in the Adolescent Health and Well-Being Survey (AHWS) during 1999 in Victoria, Australia. A two-stage cluster sampling was conducted and two different approaches to sampling schools were used for the metropolitan and rural areas. Demographic variables used included gender, parental place of birth, language other than English spoken at home, parents unemployed, and non-intact family. Cannabis use was based on self-reported frequency. Complete data on all variables included in the analysis were available for 2,848 (91 percent) year 9 students and 2,363 (94 percent) year 11 students. Forty-four percent of the year 9 students were male, and 43 percent of the year 11 students were male. Results of the analysis include male and female students in year 9 reported similar levels of cannabis use in the last 30 days, while males reported weekly use more frequently than females. For year 11 students, the prevalence of any cannabis use in the last 30 days and weekly cannabis use was similar for males and females. When both parents were born outside Australia and when a language other than English was spoken at home, students in both years 9 and 11 were less likely to have used cannabis in the last 30 days. For both year levels, there was no evidence of association between cannabis use in the last 30 days and having both parents unemployed; however, there was an association between cannabis use and family status. There was a clear association between parent-child attachment and both measures of cannabis use in years 9 and 11, with year 9 experiencing a ceiling effect at the third level (poor attachment), after which no further increase in cannabis use was evident. A strong association was evident between permissive parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency and cannabis use for both year 9 and year 11 students. Data from this study demonstrate a high prevalence of cannabis use among Australian teenagers and the importance of a coordinated public health response to the problem of cannabis use. The study also reveals a strong correlation between parent attitudes favorable to drug use and adolescent cannabis use, suggesting that targeting interventions to families with a history of drug and alcohol problems may be one promising strategy for addressing this link. 37 references and 3 tables