Parents & Cannabis: Adolescents’ Reports of Parent-Related Factors Associated with Their Attitudes About and Intentions to Use Cannabis

Abstract

Adolescents in Washington state have grown up with parents legally able to purchase and consume cannabis. In this environment, it is important to determine the role parental cannabis use and parental monitoring plays in adolescents’ cannabis-related beliefs and intentions. Data analyses of online survey data collected from 276 Washington state adolescents (out of the 350 surveyed who answered applicable questions) conducted four years after the first recreational cannabis retailers opened in the state, indicated perceived parental cannabis use was associated with youth’s attitudes and intentions to use cannabis. Parental monitoring was associated with adolescents’ attitudes about cannabis. Adolescents’ perceived closeness to mother served as a protective factor for adolescent cannabis use, unless the mother used cannabis. Instead, closeness to mothers who use cannabis served as a risk factor for youths’ pro-cannabis attitudes and intentions to use cannabis. Overall, the results of the current study indicate that parents serve as a social context from which adolescents learn about cannabis use and its consequences. Implications are discussed in the article.