Abstract
Introduction: This study aimed to examine gender differences in the bidirectional associations between marijuana use and depressive symptoms among African American adolescents. The study also tested gender differences in the effects of socioeconomic status, maternal support, and friends’ drug use on adolescents’ depressive symptoms and marijuana use.Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the Flint Adolescent Study (FAS). Six hundred and eighty one African American adolescents (335 males and 346 females) were followed for 3 years, from 1995 (mean age 16) to 1997 (mean age 19). Depressive symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory) and marijuana use were measured annually during the follow up. We used multi-group latent growth curve modeling to explore the reciprocal associations between depressive symptoms and marijuana use over time based on gender.Results: Baseline marijuana use was predictive of an increase in depressive symptoms over time among male but not female African American adolescents. Baseline depressive symptoms were not predictive of an increase in marijuana use among male or female adolescents.Conclusion: Study findings suggest that male African American adolescents who use marijuana are at an increased risk of subsequent depressive symptoms. Interventions that combine screening and treatment for marijuana use and depression may be indicated for African American male adolescents.
Highlights
This study aimed to examine gender differences in the bidirectional associations between marijuana use and depressive symptoms among African American adolescents
The findings presented here revealed that male and female African American adolescents differ in the reciprocal associations between marijuana use and depressive symptoms
Male African American adolescents who use marijuana may be at higher risk of elevated depressive symptoms over time
Summary
This study aimed to examine gender differences in the bidirectional associations between marijuana use and depressive symptoms among African American adolescents. Due to a lower access to the health care system and a higher stigma associated with mental health problems (Menke and Flynn, 2009), depression tends to be more chronic, severe, and disabling for African American individuals compared to White Americans (Jones-Webb and Snowden, 1993; Williams et al, 2007). While African American adolescents are less likely to use marijuana compared to their White counterparts, the consequences of drug use may be more devastating for them (Wallace and Bachman, 1993). There is a need to study these associations among African American adolescents (Kandel et al, 1997; Repetto et al, 2008; Caldwell et al, 2016)
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