The Effects of Mental Health Symptoms and Marijuana Expectancies on Marijuana Use and Consequences Among At-Risk Adolescents

• Author: Brett A. Ewing,Jeremy N. V. Miles,Sarah B. Hunter,Eric R. Pedersen,Karen Chan Osilla,Elizabeth J. D’Amico
• Published date: 01 April 2015
• Date: 01 April 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0022042614559843
• Subject Matter: Articles

Journal of Drug Issues

2015, Vol. 45(2) 151 –165

© The Author(s) 2014

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042614559843

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Article

The Effects of Mental Health

Symptoms and Marijuana

Expectancies on Marijuana Use

and Consequences Among At-Risk

Adolescents

Eric R. Pedersen1, Jeremy N. V. Miles1, Karen Chan Osilla1,

Brett A. Ewing1, Sarah B. Hunter1, and Elizabeth J. D’Amico1

Abstract

Based on expectancy theory, adolescents at risk for mental health symptoms, such as those

involved in the juvenile court system, may use marijuana due to the belief that use will attenuate

anxiety and depressive symptoms. In a diverse sample of youth involved in the Santa Barbara

Teen Court system (N = 193), we examined the association between mental health symptoms

and marijuana expectancies on marijuana use and consequences. In general, stronger positive

expectancies and weaker negative expectancies were both associated with increased marijuana

use. Youth who reported more symptoms of both anxiety and depression, and stronger

positive expectancies for marijuana also reported more consequences. We found that youth

experiencing the greatest level of consequences from marijuana were those who reported

more depressive symptoms and stronger positive expectancies for marijuana. Findings suggest

that these symptoms, combined with strong positive expectancies about marijuana’s effects,

have implications for consequences among at-risk youth.

Keywords

at-risk youth, marijuana, expectancies, mental health, depression

Marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug by adolescents in the United States. A recent

large-scale national sample of youth found that 15% of adolescents have tried marijuana by 8th

grade and 45% report use by 12th grade (Johnston, O’Malley, Miech, Bachman, & Schulenberg,

2014). Approximately 17% of 10th graders and 23% of 12th graders reported past month use.

These data also suggest that rates of use for 10th and 12th graders are increasing, with rates of

daily use the highest they have been in the past 30 years. In addition, youth who report marijuana

use typically use regularly. For example, among those aged 12 to 17 who reported using in the

past year, 64% reported using more than 11 times in the past year (i.e., about once per month or

more) and nearly one third of users reported using more than 100 times in the past year (Substance

1RAND, Santa Monica, CA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Eric R. Pedersen, RAND, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407, USA.

Email: ericp@rand.org

559843JODXXX10.1177/0022042614559843Journal of Drug IssuesPedersen et al.

research-article2014