Investigating Moderation in the Prospective Relationship of Marijuana Use to Subsequent Illicit Substance Use: Evidence from Add Health

Authors

Radhika Prasad, University at Albany, SUNYFollow
Ming Wen, University of UtahFollow
Zobayer AhmmadFollow
Daniel Adkins, University of UtahFollow

Abstract

Whereas socially normalized substances (e.g., marijuana) may increase the probability of subsequent progression to more harmful illicit substances, previous empirical research on the topic has yielded inconsistent results. Few studies have prospectively examined whether age of first documented current marijuana use is related to later harmful illicit substance use over multiple life course stages, or considered potential moderation of the process by age of first documented current marijuana use, gender, or race/ethnicity. To investigate this topic, data from five waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult (N=20,774), spanning ages 12-42, were used to analyze the prospective association of current marijuana use at any of the five waves to current illicit substances in early middle adulthood (i.e., Wave 5), conditional on socio-demographic controls. Moderation in the effect of first documented current marijuana use on later illicit substance use was tested for three putative moderators, gender, race/ethnicity, and age of first reported current marijuana use, using interaction effects. Multiple imputation was used to address a modest amount of missing data. Results indicate that current marijuana use at any wave was strongly associated with documented current illicit substance use in early middle adulthood (OR = 4.506, p < .001), conditional on socio-demographic controls. Furthermore, individuals whose first documented current marijuana use occurred in young adulthood had lower odds of using more harmful illicit substances in early middle adulthood, compared to those who first reported current marijuana use in adolescence or the transition to adulthood (OR = 0.662, p < .05). There was no evidence of moderation by gender or racial/ethnicity. Our results suggest that individuals who report using marijuana in adolescence and the transition to adulthood have greater likelihood of more harmful illicit substance use in early middle adulthood.

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Recommended Citation

Prasad, Radhika; Wen, Ming; Ahmmad, Zobayer; and Adkins, Daniel (2023) "Investigating Moderation in the Prospective Relationship of Marijuana Use to Subsequent Illicit Substance Use: Evidence from Add Health," Health Behavior Research: Vol. 6: No. 2. https://doi.org/10.4148/2572-1836.1172