NCJ Number
192926
Date Published
2001
Length
164 pages
Annotation
The aim of this report was to investigate the role of parents, especially members of the baby boom generation, on the marijuana use of children. An investigation was made concerning the association of marijuana use between parents and children, the differences among parental birth cohorts, and the determinants of child marijuana use.
Abstract
Five major goals were addressed in this report. First, to develop a strategy to define parental exposure to the marijuana epidemic. Second, to assess the associations between parental and child marijuana use according to pattern and extensiveness of use, by sex of parent, and age, sex, and ethnicity of child. Third, to assess the impact of membership in the baby boom generation and parental exposure to the marijuana epidemic on child marijuana use. Fourth, to determine the particular influences of parental marijuana use on the child’s marijuana use. Fifth, to identify important predictors of marijuana use by people in addition to parental marijuana use. Chapter 2 of the report outlines the hypothesis of the study. Chapter 3 examines the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) methodology and the dyadic samples available for analysis. Chapter 4 presents the sociodemographic characteristics of parents and children in the dyadic sample. Chapter 5 reports the rates of marijuana use observed among parents and children and the associations between parent and child use through cross-tabulations and odds ratios. Chapter 6 assesses the influence of differential exposure to the marijuana epidemic on children’s marijuana use. Some of the highlights of the reports findings include: parental membership in the baby boom generation did not account for the different rates of children’s marijuana use; the influence of parental marijuana use on child lifetime marijuana use was similar for mothers and fathers, and sons and daughters; parental use of cigarettes, alcohol and cocaine each independently increased the risk that a child will use marijuana over and beyond the influence of parental use marijuana; and, the association between adolescent delinquency and marijuana use was four times as strong as the association between adolescent and parental use. Tables, appendices and figures.