Differences in the Marijuana Expectancies of Adolescents in Relation to Marijuana Use

Abstract

Marijuana use continues to be a problem among youth. Outcome expectancies influence substance-using behavior in both children and adults. Expectancy interventions are empirically supported. Despite their success, there is a lack of information regarding marijuana expectancies in youth from which to develop these interventions. The present investigation conducted using independent resources from 2003 to 2005 surveyed 142 children and adolescents 11 to 18 years of age in the southeastern United States to develop the Marijuana Expectancy Inventory for Children and Adolescents (MEICA). The MEICA was administered to a different sample of 144 adolescents 14 to 19 years of age, and memory modeling was used to compare the expectancies of users versus never-users. Implications for marijuana prevention and intervention programs, future research, and limitations of the current investigation are discussed.

Keywords:

• expectancies
• marijuana
• adolescents
• children
• memory