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A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Depressive Symptoms Predict Cannabis Initiation Among Mexican American Young Adults
Srishty Arora1, Caroline North1, C Nathan Marti1
1Department of Kinesiology & Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
Background:
Factors contributing to cannabis initiation among Hispanic young adults remain understudied.
Methods:
We examined the independent and interactive roles of depressive symptoms, family cohesion, and family conflict on cannabis initiation one year later among 616 18-29-year-old cannabis-naïve Mexican American college students in Texas.
Results:
Mixed-effects logistic regressions indicated that greater depressive symptoms predicted cannabis initiation one year later. Neither family cohesion nor family conflict moderated the depressive symptoms-cannabis initiation association.
Conclusion:
Mexican American young adults experiencing depressive symptoms may initiate cannabis use to cope with emotional distress. Additional research should examine the factors that drive cannabis initiation in this population.
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