Psychosocial Correlates of Adolescent Cannabis Use: Data from the Italian Subsample of the Second International Self-Reported Delinquency Study

Abstract

To provide a comprehensive picture of the whole spectrum of psychosocial factors potentially associated with adolescent cannabis use, bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess a variety of social, demographic, psychological, and behavioral correlates of last-month cannabis use and age of first use among 6,838 students. Results showed that only family problems, alcohol and/or other drug use/misuse, deviant behavior, and victimization were independently associated with either recent cannabis use or early onset of cannabis use when multiple, interacting factors were considered. Certain family and behavioral factors might be more important than other psychosocial correlates of adolescent cannabis use.

KEYWORDS:

• Cannabis use
• risk factors
• substance use
• alcohol abuse
• juvenile delinquency
• victimization