Citation

Suárez-Maldonado MT, Domínguez-Martínez T, Benjet C. J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 2022; 83(6): 781-792.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

36484575

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Given the increased legislative changes toward cannabis use around the globe and the negative consequences of cannabis misuse for public health and safety, a greater understanding of cannabis use transitions is important to guide decision-making. Although evidence on cannabis use-associated factors is vast, studies on the factors influencing the incidence and progression of cannabis use over time are still relatively scarce. This study presents a systematic narrative review of studies focused on longitudinal predictors of cannabis use in order to summarize the state of the field, identify research gaps, and propose avenues for future research.

METHOD: We searched for prospective observational studies that examined factors associated with the initiation, increase, or other longitudinal patterns of cannabis use in the general population, published up to December 2020 and indexed in EBSCOhost, PubMed, and Google Scholar.

RESULTS: Of the 31 included studies in this review, most focused on intrapersonal, interpersonal, and socioenvironmental factors. The most consistent predictors of cannabis use transitions across studies were previous patterns of other substance use, mental health and personality traits, family and peer influences, and other factors such as ethnicity and education.

CONCLUSIONS: We identified a lack of consensus on the definition of outcome variables, objective measures of cannabis use, and international representativeness among the included studies, as none of them was carried out in developing countries. For research to have a greater impact on prevention, treatment, and public policy, more longitudinal studies are needed to increase knowledge of causal mechanisms and the predictive power of risk and protective factors for cannabis use problems.

Language: en