The Role of Negative Life Events in Comorbid Reactive Aggression and Marijuana Use Initiation among Latino Adolescents

Abstract

Compelling epidemiological evidence shows that marijuana use is highly comorbid with aggressive behavior, particularly among adolescents and young adults; yet the causal nexus between these 2 phenomena remains elusive. To better understand the comorbidity of specific subtypes of aggression and marijuana use, this study evaluated associations between proactive and reactive aggression and marijuana use initiation and examined whether negative life events (NLEs) partially accounted for the link between reactive aggression and marijuana use initiation in a sample of Latino adolescents (N = 144, 54% male, mean age = 16.25 years). Results indicated that approximately 43% of participants had tried marijuana. NLEs were associated with both marijuana use initiation and reactive aggression, but were unrelated to proactive aggression, thereby providing support for similar environmental correlates for reactive aggression and marijuana use. Further, a test of indirect effects suggested that NLEs partially accounted for the link between reactive aggression and marijuana use initiation, with NLEs accounting for 14% of the variance in this association. Implications for intervention and future directions for research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• aggression
• environmental stressors
• substance use
• youth

Additional information

Funding

The writing of this article was supported in part by a University of Kansas Research Investment Council strategic initiatives grant awarded to Paula J. Fite and Marco Bortolato and a National Institute on Drug Abuse fellowship grant (F31 DA034423) awarded to Joy Gabrielli.