Open AccessEarly and Late Adolescent Factors that Predict Co-use of Cannabis with Alcohol and Tobacco in Young Adulthood
Author(s) -
Elizabeth J. D’Amico,
Anthony Rodriguez,
Joan S. Tucker,
Michael Stephen Dunbar,
Eric R. Pedersen,
Regina A. Shih,
Jordan P. Davis,
Rachana Seelam
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
prevention science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1573-6695
pISSN - 1389-4986
DOI - 10.1007/s11121-020-01086-7
Subject(s) - cannabis , health psychology , psychology , structural equation modeling , young adult , sibling , latent growth modeling , substance use , alcohol , peer group , developmental psychology , demography , public health , clinical psychology , medicine , psychiatry , chemistry , biochemistry , statistics , nursing , mathematics , sociology
The changing legal landscape of cannabis in the USA has coincided with changes in how cannabis is used, including its co-use with other substances. This study analyzed 10 years of data from a diverse cohort of youth (N = 2429; 54% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 16% white, 3% black, 10% multiracial) to examine predictors in early and late adolescence of co-use of alcohol with cannabis (AC) and tobacco with cannabis (TC) at age 21. Two forms of co-use were examined: concurrent (use of both substances in past month) and sequential (use of one substance right after the other). Analyses focused on four predictor domains: individual (e.g., resistance self-efficacy), peer (e.g., time spent around peers who use), family (e.g., sibling use), and neighborhood (i.e., perceived alcohol and drug problems in neighborhood). For each co-use combination (AC or TC), we estimated parallel process piecewise latent growth models in a structural equation modeling framework using Mplus v8. The final AC and TC co-use models included all predictor variables from the four domains. Increases in positive expectancies and time spent around peers who use AC, as well as steeper decreases in resistance self-efficacy, were all related to a greater likelihood of AC co-use in young adulthood. Increases in sibling TC use and time spent around peers who use TC, as well as steeper decreases in resistance self-efficacy, were all related to a greater likelihood of TC co-use in young adulthood. Overall, findings highlight the importance of addressing peer influence in prevention programming during both early and late adolescence.