Risk and protective factors for cannabis use among young people - a population based survey

BACKGROUND: Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance in Ireland and globally, with its use most likely to occur in adolescence when the developing brain is more vulnerable to cannabis-related harm. This study aims to ascertain the prevalence of and determine the risk and protective factors for cannabis use among adolescents in the North East of Ireland. METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of the 2021 Planet Youth survey. The population comprised a sample of 4404 adolescents aged 15-16 in Cavan, Monaghan and North Dublin. The outcome of interest was cannabis use in the last 30 days. Independent variables were selected a priori following a literature review. Associations between cannabis use and the independent variables were explored using logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of current cannabis use among study participants was 7.3%. The odds of cannabis use were higher among current alcohol users (aOR 2.68, CI 1.79-4.02), smokers (aOR 3.17, CI 2.18-4.60), e-cigarette users (aOR 2.72, CI 1.87-3.96), adolescents who did not perceive its use as harmful (aOR 2.24, CI 1.51-3.32), felt their parents were not against cannabis (aOR 3.71, CI 2.43-5.66), had cannabis-using peers (aOR 9.81, CI 5.76-16.71) or felt peer pressure to use cannabis (aOR 1.91, CI 1.09-3.33). Low parental supervision was associated with higher odds of cannabis use. There was no association between gender and cannabis use. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified five risk factors and three protective factors associated with cannabis use which can be targeted by policymakers when designing drug prevention strategies.