ERIC Number: EJ1247059
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1090-1981
EISSN: N/A
Perceived Ease of Access and Age Attenuate the Association between Marijuana Ad Exposure and Marijuana Use in Adolescents
Health Education & Behavior, v47 n2 p311-320 Apr 2020
This study theorizes and tests moderators (perceived availability of marijuana and age-group) of the association between adolescents' frequency of marijuana ad exposure and past-year marijuana use. To test this model, I analyzed national survey data from 9,024 American adolescents with hierarchical regression techniques. Results showed that being a male (95% confidence interval [CI] for unstandardized regression coefficient [0.06, 0.16]) and peer pressure (95% CI [0.04, 0.14]) were positively associated with past-year marijuana use, and father education (95% CI [-0.11, -0.06]) was negatively associated with it. Perceived ease of access (95% CI [0.18, 0.22]), ad exposure (95% CI [0.03, 0.14]), and age (95% CI [0.16, 0.27]) were positively associated with past-year marijuana use. Importantly, the associations of perceived ease of access and age with past-year marijuana use were significantly larger than that of ad exposure. Age (95% CI [0.00, 0.15]) and perceived ease of access (95% CI [0.01, 0.07]) independently strengthened the ad exposure to use association. There was a significant three-way interaction (95% CI [0.01, 0.12]) showing that age increases the positive influence of perceived ease of access on the marijuana ad exposure to past-year marijuana use association. An exploratory analysis further revealed that male adolescents are more strongly influenced by perceived ease of access compared to females. Based on the findings, I suggest that approaches for reducing perceived marijuana availability and for implementing age-specific interventions are promising avenues for prevention programs aimed at decreasing marijuana use in adolescents.
Descriptors: Marijuana, Age Differences, Adolescents, Incidence, Advertising, Drug Abuse, Gender Differences, Peer Influence, Parent Background, Educational Attainment, Grade 8, Grade 10
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 8; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Grade 10; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A