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Introduction: Marijuana use peaks in emerging adulthood, with recent national estimates indicating that 32% of 18 to 25 year olds have used marijuana in the past year. Researchers have begun to investigate the protective influence of parents on substance use into emerging adulthood. In particular, parent-offspring substance-specific communication has been examined as a protective factor, but results thus far have been mixed. Alcohol-specific communication has been negatively related to offspring alcohol use in some studies, but unrelated to alcohol use in other studies. Most of this research has focused on alcohol and tobacco communication. This study sought to expand this literature, by investigating the influence of parent-offspring attachment, parenting practices, parent’s marijuana use, and parent-offspring communication about marijuana (CAM) on past year marijuana use among emerging adults.
Methods: A sample of college students (N=449) between the ages of 18 and 25 years old from a large southeastern university were recruited between February and September 2014. Participants completed an online survey measuring parent knowledge and solicitation, parent-offspring attachment, and parent marijuana use. Structural equation modeling was conducted in Mplus 7.0 to test two models, each with pathways from parenting practices, parent marijuana use, and parent-offspring attachment to CAM. In one model, a path from CAM to past year marijuana use was examined, while a path from CAM to problematic drug use was investigated in the second.
Results: Model fit indices were good for the model examining marijuana use (CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.05) and adequate for the model examining problematic drug use (CFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.07). In both models, positive paths were found from parent marijuana use and parenting practices to CAM, while a negative path was observed between insecure attachment and CAM. The path from CAM to offspring past year marijuana use was negative and marginally significant (-0.10, p=0.08). The path from CAM to offspring problematic substance use was also negative and significant (-0.15, p=0.004).
Conclusions: These findings add to the literature on the positive influence of parents on marijuana use in emerging adulthood. As laws about marijuana continue to change, understanding protective influences on its’ use is becoming increasingly important. Results of this study could be used to inform interventions that encourage parent-offspring communication in aiming to prevent or reduce emerging adult substance use.