Does maternal education moderate the relationship between adolescent cannabis use and mental health in early adulthood?

Gemma Sawyer, Laura D. Howe, Matthew Hickman, Stanley Zammit, Lindsey A. Hines

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Introduction: Socioeconomic disadvantage has been associated with cannabis use and poor mental health. It is therefore hypothesised that lower maternal education, a proxy for socioeconomic disadvantage, may increase the risk of cannabis-related mental health and substance use consequences. 

Methods: A total of 5099 participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children reported cannabis use via questionnaires at 16 or 18. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between any and regular (weekly or more) adolescent cannabis use with depression, anxiety, psychotic experiences, and problematic cannabis use at age 24. Maternal education was included as an effect modifier. Missing data were addressed through multiple imputation using chained equations. 

Results: In total, 36.5% of participants reported adolescent cannabis use and, of these, 14% reported regular use. Adolescent cannabis use was associated with an increased likelihood of anxiety and problematic cannabis use; however, there was little evidence of moderation by maternal education. Regular cannabis use was associated with an increased likelihood of problematic cannabis use, with little evidence of moderation by maternal education. There was weak evidence that the association between regular cannabis use and depression (interaction p-value = 0.024) and anxiety (interaction p-value = 0.056) was stronger in people with high maternal education. 

Discussion and Conclusions: Adolescent cannabis use is associated with increased risk of anxiety and cannabis use disorder, but there was insufficient evidence that childhood socioeconomic position (proxied by maternal education) modifies this relationship. Improved public health messages for all adolescents about these risks may be warranted.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1773-1780
Number of pages8
JournalDrug and Alcohol Review
Volume43
Issue number7
Early online date9 Sept 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2024

Funding

The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust (Grant ref: 217065/Z/19/Z) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. A comprehensive list of grants funding is available on the ALSPAC website ( http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant\u2010acknowledgements.pdf ); this work was specifically funded by the MRC (Grant ref: MR/L022206/1). This publication is the work of the authors and Gemma Sawyer, Laura Howe, and Lindsey Hines will serve as guarantors for the contents of this article. Gemma Sawyer is supported by a Wellcome Trust PhD studentship in Molecular, Genetic and Lifecourse Epidemiology (Grant ref: 218495/Z/19/Z). Lindsey Hines is funded by the Wellcome Trust (Grant ref: 209158/Z/17/Z). Laura Howe is supported by a career development award from the UK Medical Research Council (Grant ref: MR/M020894/1). Stanley Zammit is supported by the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (Grant ref: NIHR203315). Matthew Hickman acknowledges support from the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation at the University of Bristol. This research was funded in whole, or in part, by the Wellcome Trust. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.

FundersFunder number
National Institute for Health and Care Research
University of Bristol
Medical Research CouncilMR/M020894/1, MR/L022206/1, 218495/Z/19/Z, 209158/Z/17/Z
Medical Research Council
NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research CentreNIHR203315
NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre
The Wellcome Trust217065/Z/19/Z
The Wellcome Trust

Keywords

  • ALSPAC
  • cannabis
  • mental health
  • socioeconomic position

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Health(social science)

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