Dataset Information

Cannabis Liberalization and Adolescent Cannabis Use: A Cross-National Study in 38 Countries.

ABSTRACT: AIMS:To assess the associations between types of cannabis control policies at country level and prevalence of adolescent cannabis use. SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN:Multilevel logistic regressions were performed on 172,894 adolescents 15 year of age who participated in the 2001/2002, 2005/2006, or 2009/2010 cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey in 38 European and North American countries. MEASURES:Self-reported cannabis use status was classified into ever use in life time, use in past year, and regular use. Country-level cannabis control policies were categorized into a dichotomous measure (whether or not liberalized) as well as 4 detailed types (full prohibition, depenalization, decriminalization, and partial prohibition). Control variables included individual-level sociodemographic characteristics and country-level economic characteristics. FINDINGS:Considerable intra-class correlations (.15-.19) were found at country level. With respect to the dichotomized cannabis control policy, adolescents were more likely to ever use cannabis (odds ratio (OR) = 1.10, p = .001), use in past year (OR = 1.09, p = .007), and use regularly (OR = 1.26, p = .004). Although boys were substantially more likely to use cannabis, the correlation between cannabis liberalization and cannabis use was smaller in boys than in girls. With respect to detailed types of policies, depenalization was associated with higher odds of past-year use (OR = 1.14, p = .013) and regular use (OR = 1.23, p = .038), and partial prohibition was associated with higher odds of regular use (OR = 2.39, p = .016). The correlation between cannabis liberalization and regular use was only significant after the policy had been introduced for more than 5 years. CONCLUSIONS:Cannabis liberalization with depenalization and partial prohibition policies was associated with higher levels of regular cannabis use among adolescents. The correlations were heterogeneous between genders and between short- and long-terms.

SUBMITTER: Shi Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4659554 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Cannabis Liberalization and Adolescent Cannabis Use: A Cross-National Study in 38 Countries.

Shi Yuyan Y Lenzi Michela M An Ruopeng R

PloS one 20151125 11

<h4>Aims</h4>To assess the associations between types of cannabis control policies at country level and prevalence of adolescent cannabis use.<h4>Setting, participants and design</h4>Multilevel logistic regressions were performed on 172,894 adolescents 15 year of age who participated in the 2001/2002, 2005/2006, or 2009/2010 cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey in 38 European and North American countries.<h4>Measures</h4>Self-reported cannabis use status was cla ...[more]

PMID: 26605550

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundIncreases in body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of overweight in low- and middle income countries (LMICs) are often ascribed to changes in global trade patterns or increases in national income. These changes are likely to affect populations within LMICs differently based on their place of residence or socioeconomic status (SES).ObjectiveUsing nationally representative survey data from 38 countries and national economic indicators from the World Bank and other international organizations, we estimated ecological and multilevel models to assess the association between national levels of gross domestic product (GDP), foreign direct investment (FDI), and mean tariffs and BMI.DesignWe used linear regression to estimate the ecological association between average annual change in economic indicators and BMI, and multilevel linear or ordered multinomial models to estimate associations between national economic indicators and individual BMI or over- and underweight. We also included cross-level interaction terms to highlight differences in the association of BMI with national economic indicators by type of residence or socioeconomic status (SES).ResultsThere was a positive but non-significant association of GDP and mean BMI. This positive association of GDP and BMI was greater among rural residents and the poor. There were no significant ecological associations between measures of trade openness and mean BMI, but FDI was positively associated with BMI among the poorest respondents and in rural areas and tariff levels were negatively associated with BMI among poor and rural respondents.ConclusionMeasures of national income and trade openness have different associations with the BMI across populations within developing countries. These divergent findings underscore the complexity of the effects of development on health and the importance of considering how the health effects of "globalizing" economic and cultural trends are modified by individual-level wealth and residence.

Project description:This study examined associations of watching television, electronic games, computer uses with school stress, and satisfaction among adolescents. Nationally representative data from 38 European and North American countries that participated in the 2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey were analysed. School stress and school satisfaction were each assessed using a 4-point self-reported item and then dichotomised. Participants reported discretional time spent on different screen-based activities. Of the 191,786 participants (age 13.6 [1.6] years; 51% girls), 35% reported high levels of school stress, while 30% reported high satisfaction with their school. Multilevel multivariable logistic regression modelling showed that adolescents reporting watching television > 4 h/day (≤ 1 h/day as reference) had 31% higher odds of school stress (OR 1.31; 95% CI: 1.27-1.35) and 36% less odds of school satisfaction (OR 0.64; 95% CI: 0.62-0.67). Prolonged electronic gaming (> 4 h/day) increased the odds of school stress by 26% (OR 1.26; 95% CI: 1.22-1.30) and decreased the odds of school satisfaction by 37% (OR 0.63; 95% CI: 0.61-0.65). Adolescents with prolonged computer use had 46% higher odds of school stress (OR 1.46; 95% CI: 1.42-1.50) and 39% lower odds of school satisfaction (OR 0.61; 95% CI: 0.59-0.63). Association estimates were more evident among younger adolescents than their older counterparts with no apparent gender differences.ConclusionProlonged screen use, irrespective of type, was positively associated with school stress and inversely associated with school satisfaction with high computer use showing the highest adverse associations. Prospective research is needed to understand directionality and mechanisms of these relationships.What is known• Screen-based activities are adversely associated with various health and wellbeing indicators in adolescents.. • The relation between screen time and school-related outcomes is yet to understand fully.What is new• Prolonged screen time is associated with increased school stress and decreased school satisfaction in adolescents. • Computer use showed higher adverse associations than watching television or playing electronic games.

Project description:AIMS:This study tested whether adolescents who used cannabis or met criteria for cannabis dependence showed neuropsychological impairment prior to cannabis initiation and neuropsychological decline from before to after cannabis initiation. DESIGN:A longitudinal co-twin control study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:Participants were 1989 twins from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative birth cohort of twins born in England and Wales from 1994 to 1995. MEASUREMENTS:Frequency of cannabis use and cannabis dependence were assessed at age 18. Intelligence quotient (IQ) was obtained at ages 5, 12 and 18. Executive functions were assessed at age 18. FINDINGS:Compared with adolescents who did not use cannabis, adolescents who used cannabis had lower IQ in childhood prior to cannabis initiation and lower IQ at age 18, but there was little evidence that cannabis use was associated with IQ decline from ages 12-18. For example, adolescents with cannabis dependence had age 12 and age 18 IQ scores that were 5.61 (t = -3.11, P = 0.002) and 7.34 IQ points (t = -5.27, P < 0.001) lower than adolescents without cannabis dependence, but adolescents with cannabis dependence did not show greater IQ decline from age 12-18 (t = -1.27, P = 0.20). Moreover, adolescents who used cannabis had poorer executive functions at age 18 than adolescents who did not use cannabis, but these associations were generally not apparent within twin pairs. For example, twins who used cannabis more frequently than their co-twin performed similarly to their co-twin on five of six executive function tests (Ps > 0.10). The one exception was that twins who used cannabis more frequently than their co-twin performed worse on one working memory test (Spatial Span reversed; ? = -0.07, P = 0.036). CONCLUSIONS:Short-term cannabis use in adolescence does not appear to cause IQ decline or impair executive functions, even when cannabis use reaches the level of dependence. Family background factors explain why adolescent cannabis users perform worse on IQ and executive function tests.

Dataset Information

Cannabis Liberalization and Adolescent Cannabis Use: A Cross-National Study in 38 Countries.

Publications

Cannabis Liberalization and Adolescent Cannabis Use: A Cross-National Study in 38 Countries.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets