The effect of parental worries on adolescent cannabis use: Examining the moderating effect of adolescents’ self-efficacy.

Abstract

It is pretty common for parents to worry about their child now and then. Parents often have problems translating their worries into behavior which hinders parents from acting effectively. This may be relevant for the use of cannabis of the adolescent. Yet, no research is available about the impact of parental worries on the cannabis use of the adolescent. In this study the influence of parental worries on the prevalence of cannabis use of the adolescent will therefore be examined. Additionally, the study examines whether this relationship differs for adolescents with a high or low self-efficacy. The data were derived from the longitudinal Prevention of Alcohol Use in Students (PAS) dataset. A total of 359 parent-child dyads were included. The results of the logistic regression analysis showed no support for the main effects. Parental worries did not have a significant effect on the cannabis use of the adolescent. Furthermore, no interaction effects were found. Following this, it can be concluded that the relationship between parental worries and the prevalence of cannabis use of the adolescents does not differ for adolescents with a high or low self-efficacy.