To what extent do self-control and peer cannabis use moderate the relationship between anxiety and cannabis use among adolescents?

Abstract

Aim: This study examined the association between anxiety and cannabis use among adolescents and investigated the moderating role of self-control and peer use. Methods: Data were used from three waves of the Tracking Adolescent Lives Survey. A total of 2229 participants (M=11.09; SD=0.55) were enrolled at (T1) and were followed until age 16 (T3; N=1816; M=16.27; SD=0.73). Anxiety was measured by the Revised Child and Depression Scale (T2). Self-control was measured via parental report of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised scale (T3). Peer use was measured by an adolescent’s amount of cannabis smoking friends. Cannabis use was measured by the participant’s experience with cannabis (T2-T3). Results: Logistic regression analyses showed no support for an association between anxiety and cannabis use (T2-T3). A significant risk factor for cannabis use was self-control, with poorer self-control at age 16 reported by the parent, increasing the likelihood of cannabis use at age 16. Peer use significantly strengthened the association between anxiety at age 14 and the likelihood of cannabis use at age 16. Conclusions: self-control affects an adolescent’s risk of cannabis use. Adolescents with anxiety could be at risk for prospective cannabis particularly when affiliated friends use cannabis.