1. Does maternal education moderate the relationship between adolescent cannabis use and mental health in early adulthood?
- Author
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Sawyer G, Howe LD, Hickman M, Zammit S, and Hines LA
- Subjects
- Humans, Adolescent, Female, Male, Longitudinal Studies, Young Adult, Anxiety epidemiology, Depression epidemiology, Depression psychology, Marijuana Abuse epidemiology, Marijuana Abuse psychology, Surveys and Questionnaires, Adolescent Behavior psychology, Educational Status, Mental Health, Mothers psychology, Mothers statistics & numerical data, Marijuana Use epidemiology, Marijuana Use psychology
- Abstract
Introduction: Socioeconomic disadvantage has been associated with cannabis use and poor mental health. It is therefore hypothesised that lower maternal education, a proxy for socioeconomic disadvantage, may increase the risk of cannabis-related mental health and substance use consequences., Methods: A total of 5099 participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children reported cannabis use via questionnaires at 16 or 18. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between any and regular (weekly or more) adolescent cannabis use with depression, anxiety, psychotic experiences, and problematic cannabis use at age 24. Maternal education was included as an effect modifier. Missing data were addressed through multiple imputation using chained equations., Results: In total, 36.5% of participants reported adolescent cannabis use and, of these, 14% reported regular use. Adolescent cannabis use was associated with an increased likelihood of anxiety and problematic cannabis use; however, there was little evidence of moderation by maternal education. Regular cannabis use was associated with an increased likelihood of problematic cannabis use, with little evidence of moderation by maternal education. There was weak evidence that the association between regular cannabis use and depression (interaction p-value = 0.024) and anxiety (interaction p-value = 0.056) was stronger in people with high maternal education., Discussion and Conclusions: Adolescent cannabis use is associated with increased risk of anxiety and cannabis use disorder, but there was insufficient evidence that childhood socioeconomic position (proxied by maternal education) modifies this relationship. Improved public health messages for all adolescents about these risks may be warranted., (© 2024 The Author(s). Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)
- Published
- 2024
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