Direct and indirect effects of injunctive norms on marijuana use: the role of reference groups

Abstract

Little work has evaluated the relationship between injunctive norms and marijuana use. This study sought to establish whether misperceptions exist between perceived injunctive norms of typical college students and the actual approval level of the students. We also examined respondents' perceptions of which groups (typicalstudent, close friends, and parents) were the most and least approving ofmarijuana. These variables were then applied to an explanatory model toassess their relationships with marijuana use. Method: Participants were3,753 students (61% female) randomly recruited from two West Coastcampuses. Participants were asked about their own marijuana use and their own approval toward marijuana. Injunctive norms were assessedby asking respondents about their perceptions of how much other reference groups approved of marijuana. Results: Students overestimatedthe extent to which the typical student approves of marijuana use. Apath model showed that perceived approval of both close friends andparents predicted actual/self-approval, which in turn was most predictiveof personal marijuana use. Perceptions of typical-student and closefriends' approval also directly predicted onés own use, whereas the path from parental approval to marijuana use was fully mediated by onésown approval. Conclusions: Findings suggest that perceived injunctivenorms may function differently with respect to marijuana use than they do with respect to alcohol use and raise questions about how to incorporatesocial-normative information into marijuana interventions. Copyright © 2010 Rutgers University.