title: Parent and peer pathways linking childhood experiences of abuse with marijuana use in adolescence and adulthood.
abstract: The social developmental processes by which child maltreatment increases risk for marijuana use are understudied. This study examined hypothesized parent and peer pathways linking preschool abuse and sexual abuse with adolescent and adult marijuana use.
  
  
  
  Analyses used data from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study. Measures included child abuse (physical abuse, emotional abuse, domestic violence, and neglect) in preschool, sexual abuse up to age 18, adolescent (average age=18years) parental attachment and peer marijuana approval/use, as well as adolescent and adult (average age=36years) marijuana use.
  
  
  
  Confirming elevated risk due to child maltreatment, path analysis showed that sexual abuse was positively related to adolescent marijuana use, whereas preschool abuse was positively related to adult marijuana use. In support of mediation, it was found that both forms of maltreatment were negatively related to parental attachment, which was negatively related, in turn, to having peers who use and approve of marijuana use. Peer marijuana approval/use was a strong positive predictor of adolescent marijuana use, which was a strong positive predictor, in turn, of adult marijuana use.
  
  
  
  Results support social developmental theories that hypothesize a sequence of events leading from child maltreatment experiences to lower levels of parental attachment and, in turn, higher levels of involvement with pro-marijuana peers and, ultimately, to both adolescent and adult marijuana use. This sequence of events suggests developmentally-timed intervention activities designed to prevent maltreatment as well as the initiation and progression of marijuana use among vulnerable individuals.
authors.affiliation: Boys Town National Research Institute for Child and Family Studies, 14100 Crawford Street, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA. Electronic address: walter.mason@boystown.org.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Alex Mason
authors.affiliation: Social Science Research Center, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jean Russo
authors.affiliation: Boys Town National Research Institute for Child and Family Studies, 14100 Crawford Street, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA.
authors.forename: Mary B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Chmelka
authors.affiliation: Social Science Research Center, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA.
authors.forename: Roy C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Herrenkohl
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 981015, USA.
authors.forename: Todd I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Herrenkohl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D000074609:Marijuana Use / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescence; Adulthood; Child abuse; Marijuana use; Parental attachment; Peers