Fellow Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center Mount Sinai Health System Huntington Station, New York, United States
Background: Many States have liberalized or legalized the use of marijuana. As a result, many adolescents have a decreased perception of risk of frequent or daily marijuana use. In addition, little is understood about its effect on the developing adolescent brain.
Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the psychosocial impact of heavy marijuana use on adolescent women of color in an urban population.
Design/Methods: The study sample was derived from female adolescent patients participating in a parent study of the effect of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination. Participants were recruited from an adolescent health center in New York City from 2013 to 2018 and completed a questionnaire on smoking and drug use every 6 months. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between marijuana use and school problems and psychosocial adjustment. Cross-lagged path models were conducted to examine the reciprocal associations between marijuana use, depressive symptoms via a validated scale - Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CES-D), and delinquency (measured using the ADDHealth scale) over a one-year period (three study visits). In each model, we controlled for participant age, whether they received free school lunch, parent co-living status, and history of childhood maltreatment.
Results: A total of 545 study participants were included in this analysis. The mean age of the study cohort was 18.1 years (±1.3 SD). Participants self-identified as: 37% non-Black Hispanic, 16% Hispanic Black, and 41% non-Hispanic Black. Multivariable logistic regression showed that using marijuana 20 or more times in the last 30 days was associated with a higher likelihood of being suspended (OR=2.71, p<.001), reporting depressive symptoms (b = 0.48, p < .001), and engaging in delinquent behaviors (b = 0.81, p < .001). The cross-lagged model showed more frequent marijuana use at baseline predicted more depressive symptoms six months later (b = .09, p < .05). More frequent marijuana use was also associated with higher levels of delinquency from baseline to six months (b = 0.20, p < .001), and from six months to 12 months later (b = 0.12, p < .05). Higher delinquency was associated with more frequent marijuana use six months to 12 months later (b = 0.10, p < .05). Conclusion(s): This study illustrates that frequent marijuana use has negative outcomes for adolescent females in multiple domains, including depression and delinquency. This study highlights the negative effects of marijuana use on psychosocial outcomes in adolescent females of color.
Authors/Institutions: Nathalie Duroseau, Mount Sinai Health System, Huntington Station, New York, United States; Karen Wilson, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States; Yasmin Hurd, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States; Anne Nucci-Sack, Mount Sinai Health System, Huntington Station, New York, United States; Li Nui, Mount Sinai Health System, Huntington Station, New York, United States; Nicholas Schlecht, Mount Sinai Health System, Huntington Station, New York, United States; Angela Diaz, Mount Sinai Health System, Huntington Station, New York, United States
.jpg "Nathalie Duroseau, DO, MS photo")