Factor structure of cannabis related beliefs in adolescents

This study evaluated 285 high school students (163 males, 122 females, with a mean age of 17.5+/-1.1 years) using a questionnaire for the diagnosis of cannabis use and dependence: 159 of them (55.7%) were cannabis users and, among users, 52 subjects (33%) met criteria for cannabis dependence. All subjects were assessed with a self-report questionnaire derived from the questionnaire of anticipatory, relief-oriented, and permissive beliefs for drug addiction elaborated by Tison and Hautekeete [J. Ther. Comport. Cogn. 2 (1998) 43] from the cognitive model of drug addiction formulated by Beck et al. [Cognitive Therapy of Substance Abuse. New York: Guilford Press, 1993]. A confirmatory factor analysis found that the three-category model for drug-related beliefs proposed by Beck et al. provided an adequate fit to the data. Regression analyses showed that permissive beliefs were the dominant predictor for cannabis use and that relief-oriented beliefs were the only predictor of cannabis dependence. These results represent an empirical validation of Beck's model.