Prevalence and Correlates of Any and Frequent Synthetic Cannabinoid Use in a Representative Sample of High School Students

ABSTRACT

Background: There is increasing evidence that Synthetic Cannabinoid (SC) use is associated with adverse health effects, but little is known about the prevalence of SC use and risk and protective factors for SC use among adolescents. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and correlates of any and frequent SC use in a representative sample of high school students. Methods: The 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey was administered to 3,928 high school students in Nevada. A state-added question assessed any and frequent SC use (10 or more times). Weighted logistic regression identified factors for both outcomes. Results: 17.3% of students reported SC use and 4.3% used SCs frequently. As expected, there were strong associations between SC use and other substance use. After controlling for substance use, any SC use was associated with being Hispanic (AOR = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.27, 2.38) and living in a rural county (AOR = 1.68; 95% CI = 1.26, 2.23). Frequent SC use was higher among students who were male (AOR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.19, 3.84), 18 years of age (AOR = 2.34; 95% CI = 1.18, 4.67), lived in a rural county (AOR = 1.84; 95% CI = 1.11, 3.04), and were offered, sold, or given illegal drugs on school property (AOR = 2.40; 95% CI = 1.53, 3.79). Protective factors for frequent SC use included high parental monitoring (AOR = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.31, 0.93) and sports team participation (AOR = 0.61; 95% CI = 0.37, 0.99). Conclusions/Importance: SC prevention policies and programs should focus on adolescents who live in rural settings and engage in substance use. Initiatives to address drug availability as school and promote parent involvement are also warranted.

KEYWORDS:

• Synthetic cannabinoid
• high school
• prevalence
• risk factors
• protective factors

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kristen Clements-Nolle

Kristen Clements-Nolle, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno. Her current research focuses on adolescent behavioral health and the impact of adverse childhood experiences on a range of health outcomes across the lifespan.

Taylor Lensch

Taylor Lensch, MPH, is a graduate student studying Epidemiology at the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Community Health Sciences. In addition to his studies, he serves as the Coordinator of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) for the state of Nevada.

Sandra Larson

Sandra Larson, MPH, is the Manager of the Office of Public Health Informatics and Epidemiology at the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health. She works on research with young adults, juvenile offenders, and transgender individuals.

Wei Yang

Wei Yang, PhD, is a Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, and the Director of the Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Informatics at the School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses include youth risk behavior surveillance, multivariate analyses of complex survey data, and MCH epidemiology.