Early childhood predictors of age of initiation to use of cannabis: a birth prospective study.
OBJECTIVE
Early age of cannabis use predicts subsequent illicit drug abuse and other psychosocial problems. Identification of factors associated with early cannabis use may contribute to the development of preventive interventions. This study aimed to examine the early life predictors of age of initiation to cannabis.


METHODS
Data were from Mater Hospital and University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy, a population-based prospective birth cohort study. Participants were a cohort of 3488 young adults who self-reported frequency and age of onset of cannabis use at the 21 year follow up.


RESULTS
Of 3488 young adults, 48.9% (51.8% men and 46.4% women) reported having ever used cannabis. For those who had ever used cannabis, age of onset had mean and median of 15.8 and 16.0 years, respectively. In multivariate analysis child's gender, change in maternal marital status, quality of marital relationship, maternal cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption and maternal depression when the child was 5 years statistically significantly predicted age of initiation to cannabis use.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study explores the impact of early childhood factors associated with age of onset of cannabis use. It is suggested that the family environment within which children are reared, including factors such as parents' marital circumstances, has a major influence on initiation to cannabis use in adolescence. Research is needed to disentangle the pathways of association between these early life factors and early initiation to use of cannabis.
School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. m.hayatbakhsh@uq.edu.au
Reza
R
Hayatbakhsh
Gail M
GM
Williams
William
W
Bor
Jake M
JM
Najman
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001722:Birth Order / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult